


Come Rain or Come Shine

by orphan_account



Series: Come Rain or Come Shine [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Anxiety, Comfort Reading, F/M, Fluff, Lots of video games, Slow Burn, Tiny dash of Bokuaka at the end, University, eventual polyamory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-22
Updated: 2016-03-22
Packaged: 2018-05-28 11:06:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 40,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6326560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When your roommate’s new-found romance keeps you out of your room on a regular basis, you find unexpected refuge with the guys living across the hall.</p><p>The two quickly turn into an important presence in your life. Somehow, they even don’t mind putting up with your numerous anxieties. What you have done to deserve them, you aren’t sure.</p><p>Bokuto and Akaashi simply count themselves very lucky to have you in their lives.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This started out as separate one-shots within the same setting when I needed some self-indulgent fluff, until I decided to integrate them into a full story. It's probably because of this that the pacing has become such a slow, slow burn.
> 
> I'm posting this all in one go (though I may not be done writing for this setting yet), so... hope you enjoy!

Sweet lord, what had you done wrong in a previous life to have ended up with such a thirsty roommate?  
  
Lately you found yourself trudging across campus towards the library more evenings than you spend back in your room. Fortunately, the library stayed open until midnight, and you and your roommate had agreed on penalties for every time she did not kick out her new girlfriend before twelve o’clock.  
  
There were no familiar faces in the library today, so you plopped down at your favourite desk, from which you could keep an eye on the entrance and had your back to a high bookcase. A bunch of other students worked on their own assignments, or walked around around to find a particular book, most of them carrying the distinctive look of stress on their faces and tension in their shoulders. The deep emotional connection all students shared; pain and anguish over somehow finding a way to get all your work done while staying somewhat alive. You opened your bag and spread out the contents over the desk. The year had only just started but already you had more than enough work to do, and though you would die before admitting it to your roommate, your forced library visits were very useful to counteract your awful procrastination habits.  
  
Messing up your hair, you rubbed the back of your head and sighed. Time to get to work.  
  
You had barely opened your book when another person entered the library. He nodded to you in acknowledgement and you gave him a small, awkward wave. To say that you know him would be an exaggeration, but the two of you knew each others' names and greeted each other in the hallways. He lived in the room opposite of yours, together with that loud, energetic upperclassman. Shared a couple classes with you. Played volleyball. To your embarrassment, that was the full extent of your knowledge about him, despite sleeping straight across the hall.  
  
Akaashi Keiji settled on a desk in your field of vision and quickly got to work, as usual.  
  
You saw him at the library on a regular basis and he always stayed longer than you, but you weren't sure if he also had a roommate in an... active relationship, or came here for different reasons. Sometimes you shared a sympathetic exchange over classes or a pain in the ass professor, but definitely did not pass the barrier of 'acquaintances'.  
  
You put your phone on the desk where you'd be able to see it light up once your roommate send you a message. Everything shaped up to be another normal evening. Despite often getting distracted by passersby, you made some good progress on homework. After finishing a particularly challenging question, you stretched out and tried your best not to yawn (you failed). Wait, what time was it?  
  
You checked your phone and twitched. Almost midnight.  
  
Most of the other students had left already, with the exception of a couple of frantic looking upperclassmen and Akaashi.  
  
You had to admire his focus; as far as you knew he had barely looked up from his desk ever since he sat down. Occasionally he fiddled with his pen, his eyes scanning the pages intently.  
  
As for yourself, the later the time on the clock, the more trouble you had to concentrate. Much too soon, the library clerk started giving the lingering students a familiar pointed look. That look of ‘please leave before I have to put in the effort to kick you out’. Akaashi ignored him, as did you. Perhaps Aya would still text ...or perhaps she had forgotten. You weren't sure which option annoyed you more.  
  
One minute to twelve, you resigned yourself in your fate and packed your stuff up. You hesitated when you saw Akaashi do the same, wondering if it was polite to wait and walk back to your rooms together, or if that would be a bother for him. Both options  In the end, you were more worried that leaving by yourself would be rude, and waited for him to finish up as well.  
  
Akaashi cast a sideways glance at you when you left the library almost simultaneously, a slightly tired edge to his stoic expression. You grimaced at him and ran a hand through your hair. “You’re here a lot, Akaashi-san. Did you get kicked out of your room, too?”  
  
He shrugged, and for a long moment you thought he was not going to answer you. You felt your cheeks heat up a little. Hopefully he did not think you were prying. “Focusing can be difficult when you're in the same room as Bokuto-san. It's easier to just let him blow off steam by himself for a while.”  
  
His sharp eyes met yours, their intensity never less startling, and your breath caught for a second.  
  
“Your roommate is Chikasa Aya, right?”  
  
All right, your cheeks were definitely burning up now. That look told you enough; _he knows why you’re here._ “Yeah,” you muttered, almost inaudible.  
  
“My sympathies.”  
  
You chuckled, his blunt words relaxing you a little. “She's not so bad during the day. Some evenings she just makes it difficult for me to be happy for her and her new fling.”  
  
Akaashi nodded slowly, and for a short moment a silence fell. You ended up asking him about volleyball practise, and he blinked at your unexpected interest, but gave short but precise answers to your questions. Though his voice was even and calm, he did fiddle with his fingers every now and again. You were not sure if it's a nervous tick or just a habit, but hoped for the latter. You hated the thought that you’d make him nervous; not just for his sake, but also because it made you second-guess your decision to wait for him. Should have known better, you were an annoyance after all and he'd probably be happier if you had left him alone. Your brain always worked overtime to convince you that you did the world a favour by staying away, and constantly fighting against that was, frankly, exhausting.  
  
Luckily, you managed to return to the present when you and Akaashi reached the final hallway to your dorm rooms. Not quite so lucky, even from this distance you could see somewhat stuck on your doorknob. Your chest tightened, a small sense of panic bubbling up as you grabbed your phone and sent a message to Aya. However, she usually turned off her phone on nights like this. Akaashi let out a soft but sympathetic sigh when he noticed the sock attached to your doorknob.  
  
He started to open his own door when he turned back looked you over. “What are you going to do?”  
  
You shrugged. “Nothing to do but wait outside, I guess. I’ll figure something out.” At least you had also put a relaxing book in your bag, in case homework had turned out to be a bust tonight. Perhaps you should just knock on the door... but the thought of potentially interrupting something made you more than a little uncomfortable, and you would need some time to work up to it.  
  
Akaashi shook his head. “Don't be ridiculous. You can wait in here, if you want. As long as you don't mind Bokuto, it should be better than the hallway.” From inside his dorm room you could hear various noises, most of them you recognised as sound effects of a video game, punctuated by a guy's enthusiastic exclamations. Akaashi gave you a flat look, waiting for your response.  
  
“Aka~ashi!” A loud voice called from inside the room. “What's keeping you!”  
  
The voice snapped you out of your indecision and you clasped your bag a little tighter, embarrassed that your roommate indirectly forced you into accepting Akaashi's kind offer. “If it is not a bother, yes please!” Your voice came out a bit too high-pitched, a bit too loud, all a bit too much and you flushed deep red. However, Akaashi did not comment on, or even seemed to notice any of this and simply held open the door for you.  
  
Their room was packed full, but still tidy. Tidier than your own room, to be honest. It had the same basic layout as yours; first a narrow path, with a sink and door to the small bathroom to your left, and two build-in dressers to the right. After that the room widened, with a bed and desk on each side.  
  
Akaashi's roommate sat on a bean bag that was almost pushed against one of the desks, playing a video game on a small television they had attached to the wall in the right corner. You felt a twinge of jealousy; almost all your video games were back at your parents house, though you did still have a small console stored in your nightstand. It just was not the same.  
  
“Behave yourself, Bokuto-san,” Akaashi said with very little infliction in his voice, walking over to the other desk and unpacking his bag. “We have a guest over.”  
  
Bokuto barely looked away from the TV-screen. “Wait, what? What was that, Akaashi?”  
  
You shuffled your feet at the entrance, not sure where to go from here. Perhaps waiting until you were invited further in was the safest thing. You studied the room, looking at the various posters on the wall. A lot of them were sports-related, though the left side also had the odd movie or band poster. The right side had a magnet board above the desk with mostly school schedules and photos stuck to it.  
  
“You can take my chair, I usually sit on the bed anyway,” Akaashi said after he quickly arranged his things on his desk, on the right side of the room. He kept it very tidy.  
  
By now Bokuto finally caught on to what was going on. His head swished back and forth from the screen to you, his brow furrowed in confusion. His hair, which you usually saw in the same immaculate style, was damp and hung down, and he had a towel around his shoulders.  
  
Your sudden appearance threw him so off guard that he missed a vital moment in the game and a large GAME OVER appeared on the screen. Bokuto groaned loudly and let his head drop in defeat. “I was doing so well, too!”  
  
Akaashi made a soft 'ch' sound. “You've been playing the same game for days now, it was about time you finally got decent at it.”  
  
“Akaashi! You're so cruel!”  
  
Bokuto looked at his roommate with an expression filled with hurt, until he caught sight of you again and remembered how he got a game over in the first place.  
  
“Hey, hey, you're that girl from across the hall!” He struggled for a second to remember your name, but Akaashi reminded him before you got the chance. “Ah, right! You bunk with Aya-chan, right? Seems like things are going well for her and Yuki!”  
  
Though his comment seemed to be made with innocent intentions, you felt your face turn red again, much to your frustration. “Y- yeah.”  
  
Akaashi made himself a bit more comfortable on his bed, putting a pillow against the wall to lean against. “Aya-san blocked her out of their room. I invited her in so she wouldn't have to wait in the hallway.”  
  
Nodding as if Akaashi had said something truly profound, Bokuto rubbed his chin. “Nothing else for it, then.” He grabbed the spare controller and thrust it in your direction. “You made me lose, it is only fair you help me win in return.” He gave you a wide grin, and honestly, you must have mirrored it back tenfold because your face almost hurt from how wide you were smiling. Yes, no need to bring up the awkward question whether you could goof around with his video games!  
  
Akaashi looked from one to the other and sighed. “I thought you would be done by now.”  
  
“Not tonight! One way or another, I'm finishing this!”  
  
Another sigh, but in truth Akaashi did not seem too annoyed by any of this. Either that or his poker face was spectacular. “Can I get you anything?” he asked you. “We don't have much here right now but I can at least get you a glass of water or something.”  
  
Bokuto held up the bag of crisps that was in front of him. “If you turn out to be useful, you can also have some of this.”  
  
You smiled at Akaashi. “Ah, that would be great, thank you.” You put down the controller in your lap and took out your phone, turning silence off so you'd know as soon as Aya sent something. Honestly, you would not be surprised if she had fallen asleep and was now about to make you spend the night with these two (relatively unfamiliar) boys.  
  
You put your phone on Akaashi’s desk and turned to Bokuto.  
  
“Let's do this,” you said. The familiar feel of a controller in your hands was heaven after a whole evening of studying. “I don't know this game but I'm sure you'll catch me up.” You grinned at him, excited to get started.  
  
He laughed and brought the game back to the menu screen, adjusting the settings for two players. In the meanwhile, Akaashi set a glass of water on the desk and you thanked him. He returned to his little corner of the bed with a book, though you wondered whether he'd be able to properly focus on it with you and Bokuto playing video games in the same room. For a moment you felt bad, but he seemed so unbothered by it all that you made yourself wave off the feeling.  
  
“Okay, partner, pay attention,” Bokuto said, grinning at you.  
  
It turned out to be a pretty straight-forward first person shooter with various missions to finish. The screen split in two and together you got started.  
  
There was a lot of yelling involved, mostly by Bokuto who had played this game so often that by now he knew by heart where enemies would appear and what the nastiest parts were. He sat on the edge of his beanbag, laughing and yelling at the game. There were a couple of game overs at the start, when you were still getting the hang of the mechanics, but it took surprisingly little time for the two of you to sync up and beat the shit out of most enemies.  
  
It was during the final boss battle that your phone buzzed, and though you refused to let yourself get distracted by it, you and Bokuto were under serious fire here. You tried your hardest to coordinate your efforts and _to not die_ but it did not take long for that nasty GAME OVER to appear on the screen yet again.  
  
Bokuto let out a yell of frustration and you let out a deep sigh. So close, yet so far away.  
  
Akaashi gave you both a pointed look, then glanced at your phone. You checked your messages and saw a profuse apology from Aya who, as expected, had forgotten to text you before falling asleep and only woken up just now. Well, at least you were lucky she didn't sleep through the night. Sigh. For once it paid off that she was a restless sleeper.  
  
“Your room is safe again?” Akaashi asked.  
  
Bokuto groaned. “Nooo, we have to finish this! We're so close!”  
  
You looked at the time on your phone and winced. Judging by the look Akaashi was giving Bokuto, he shared your sentiments.  
  
“We both have early classes tomorrow, Bokuto,” he said in a voice that brokered no protest. Then he looked at you. “And I'm sure you're also relieved to be able to go back.”  
  
You chuckled and ran a hand through your hair. As long as you had been busy playing there was no problem, but now your fatigue seemed to hit you all at once. “Hehe, I guess.  But seriously, Akaashi-san, thank you for inviting me in. I really owe you.” You smiled and his expression softened.  
  
“No problem.” He hesitated for a moment. “Even if you guys ended up playing video games for half the night.”  
  
You opened your mouth to apologise but Bokuto cut you off. “Don't be a spoilsport, Akaashi! She helped me out big time, she's a hero!”  
  
You laughed at his enthusiasm (you had already gotten used to his cheerful outbursts halfway through the gaming session), then stood up to leave. “Thank you for letting me play with you, Bokuto-san. It was fun!”  
  
After a little bit of a struggle, Bokuto rose from the beanbag and clasped you on the shoulder. “No problem!” His eyes widened when an idea occurred to him. “Hey, hey, next time you get thrown out of your room, you should totally hang out here! Much better than being stuck in that boring library with Akaashi! He won't play video games with me, I could use someone who knows what they're doing.”  
  
He grinned at you, so infectious that despite your exhaustion you found yourself grinning back.  
  
You rubbed the back of your head, gaze shifting between Bokuto and Akaashi. The hyperactive kid gave you an expectant look, grinning widely. Akaashi did not seem to be paying attention to you, pushing himself off the bed and putting his book away instead.  
  
“Uhm, are you sure? I wouldn't want to be a bother.” Though you tried to have eye-contact with both of them, you focused your attention on Akaashi. He would probably be more vexed by any of this than Bokuto.  
  
Akaashi shrugged. “This normally doesn't last until after midnight, right?” You nodded. “Usually I'm at the library until then anyway, it's no problem for me.”  
  
“Uhm.” You looked at Bokuto, who was still beaming at you like a little kid. “Well, okay, sure then!”  
  
He let out a little cheer and gave you a thump on the shoulder. “Let me give you my number! If you're early I might still be at practise so you can just shoot me a message and I'll let you know when I'm back.”  
  
“Oh, uhm, okay?” You barely had the chance to protest while Bokuto took your phone and entered his number. He gave it back without calling himself, a gesture you appreciated. You had no problem with him having your number, but it was still nice of him to leave it up to you.  
  
Even so, the sudden realisation that this would mostly leave you alone with Bokuto caught you off guard. Alone with a guy you barely knew? You bit your lip and could feel your face betraying your concerns, but you tried to keep him from noticing. He seemed like a good guy, and you had a lot of fun today. Realistically, you probably had no reason to worry about being with just the two of you. Right.  
  
“Okay, I'll get out of your hair now! Thanks again!” You bowed lightly and turned away.  
  
“I'll walk you out.”  
  
To your surprise, it was Akaashi who said that. Feeling a little flustered, you allowed him to walk with you to the door. He came outside with you and left the door open just a crack. You tilted your head to the side and gave him a confused look.  
  
Akaashi sighed and shot a peeved look back into the room. “I don't think there is anyone alive who is more transparent than that guy,” he said, gesturing back into the room with his head, then locked his eyes on you. Somehow, it was both hard to hold eye-contact and impossible to look away from him at the same time. “If he had any ulterior motives for asking you to spend time with him alone, trust me, this would have been much more embarrassing for all of us.”  
  
You blushed at having been seen through so completely, but a warm feeling rose in your chest. Though Akaashi looked a little intimidating and was a hard person to read, he really was kind.  
  
“Thanks, Akaashi-san. I'll keep that in mind.” You smiled at him. “I hope you still manage to get enough sleep, sorry again for the inconvenience.”  
  
He shook his head. “I wouldn't have invited you in if I thought you'd cause one. It was no bother. Good night.”  
  
You barely got the chance to wish him a good night as well before he went back into the room and closed the door behind him.  
  
You sighed and looked over your shoulder at your own door. When you went inside, Aya was still awake and tried to apologise profusely, but you were so tired that you told her you'd talk about it tomorrow. You just dropped your bag on your desk, quickly brushed your teeth, and fell asleep the moment you hit the mattress.  
  
But despite the exhaustion there was a happy feeling in your chest. All in all this had been a much better evening than expected.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day, you carried a wide grin on your face when Aya handed you a six-pack of beer; the usual penalty for keeping you out past midnight. In the morning you had moped at her a little over what had happened, but did not give her too much grief over it. The end result had been really fun for you, after all.  
  
You put the beer away in the small fridge that Aya had managed to fit into the room, and for almost the entire day, business went on as usual. One of Aya's professors had really laid on the homework, so she spend the evening working frantically. Though there were no insanely stressful deadlines for you this week, there was more than enough work waiting so you joined her. Last semester, you had gotten most of your work done during those long library evenings, but with Bokuto's invitation echoing in the back of your head, you weren't sure how that would end up from now on.  
  
Not long into your study-session, your phone buzzed. Your eyes widened when you saw the sender. Speak of the devil...  
  
_Hey hey hey! Are you free now? I still need your help to kick this boss' ass!_  
  
You chuckled at the message and start putting your books away after sending a quick reply to him. “Aya, I'm going out for tonight. Should be back before midnight” – you suspected Akaashi would kick you out then at the latest – “but I'll be quiet going back in, promise.” She had an early morning practise after all, and would probably already be asleep by then.  
  
Aya looked at you with mild surprise. Though you were by no means anti-social, you also rarely made last-minute plans. She shrugged and turned back to her homework, too busy to question you about it.  
  
You took two cans out of the tiny fridge and walked to the room opposite of yours, not even bothering to put on shoes. Still, you did knock on the door, not quite comfortable enough yet to barge in unannounced.  
  
Akaashi was the one to let you in, and he let out a sigh of relief. “Please help him beat this game,” he said, glancing backwards into the room, where Bokuto waved at you from his bean bag. “He hasn't stopped complaining about it since this afternoon. He moped around a lot, too.”  
  
You rubbed the back of your head and gave him a lop-sided grin. “I'll do my best, Akaashi-san.” A half-packed bag lay on his desk. “Are you going out to the library?”  
  
He nodded and stepped backwards to let you into the room, then finished packing the aforementioned bag. A short word to Bokuto, a curt nod to you, and Akaashi left you alone with his roommate.  
  
For a moment you were nervous, hoping you would not regret this decision, but then Bokuto turned to you and his grin was as wide as ever.  
  
“Get your ass over here, we got monsters to shoot!”  
  
Your worries melted away and you walked forward, raising the two cans of beer up for him to see. “As a thank you for letting me crash over here yesterday! I'll put Akaashi's here, okay?” You started to set one can on Akaashi's desk but Bokuto waved his hand in front of him.  
  
“Aw man, you didn’t have to!” He stood up and took the other one, thanking you profusely. “But Akaashi doesn't drink, so treat yourself!”  
  
Not about to pass up that offer, you grinned and clinked cans with Bokuto.  
  
“KYAAAAA!”  
  
Though you took smaller sips, Bokuto took a big gulp and looked absolutely delighted.  
  
“All right, let's do this!” He thrust the controller in your hands and settled into a make-shift seat that appeared to have been built out of pillows and blankets. Grinning again, he gestured towards the bean bag next to it. “This is the seat of honour right here, so help me out today, all right?”  
  
You laughed and carefully sat down. Slid down a little further to make yourself comfortable. Damn. You were not getting up from this any time soon. _Damn_. You turned to Bokuto. “Are you sure it's okay?”  
  
He waved a dismissive hand at you and turned towards the TV-screen, where you could see him setting up the game. “There are cookies over there, make sure to take some, okay? Don't think I didn't notice you didn't eat any chips yesterday.” He winked at you, and you couldn't help but blush. It had mostly been because the bag of chips was on the ground and you had sat up in the desk chair, rather than not feeling free to take any, but you hadn’t expected Bokuto to be that observant.  
  
You gave him a shy grin and made a show out of grabbing the roll of cookies and taking one, waving it up for him to see.  
  
Bokuto laughed and took another sip of beer while he waited for you to be ready to start.  
  
At once, he threw you right into the thick of it, the last check point before the final boss. You gulped and tried to get into the swing of things. However, yesterday had been your first time ever playing this particular game, so you messed up before you even managed to make a dent into the boss' health.  
  
“Aahhh, I'm sorry, Bokuto-san! I need a moment to get used to it again!”  
  
For a second there was visible frustration on Bokuto's face, then he shook his head and laughed. “No worries, no worries!” He winked at you. “Akaashi warned me I shouldn't start there but gaaah! I really thought we could do it!”  
  
The game got started up again, but now Bokuto took it from the start of the final chapter. This gave you a chance to get acclimatized and be more comfortable with the controls.  
  
This time around, the two of you were a far better match, but around the halfway point, the final monster started spawning minions and you could not adjust strategy smoothly enough to survive. You whined in frustration and immediately grabbed for another cookie, while Bokuto downed the rest of his beer.  
  
“All right! We can do this!”  
  
This time, Bokuto was the voice of optimism. He gave you a thumbs up and fiddled inside the menu.  
  
“Are you okay to start at the final check point this time?”  
  
Mouth still full with cookie, you simply nodded and shot him an intense look. You weren't going to lose this time!  
  
Except, you did.  
  
Considering his initial reaction, you were surprised to find that Bokuto got more and more enthusiastic as time went on. Instead of getting frustrated or angry over your third and fourth game over, he laughed and slapped you on the shoulder and seemed to have full confidence in that the pair of you would succeed eventually. His high spirits kept yours up, too, and instead of moping over a loss you simply endeavoured to do better next time.  
  
During your fifth attempt, the sound of the door almost made you lose concentration and you dodged an attack only just in time. Akaashi came in quietly and just gave the both of you a blank look before he unpacked his bag.  
  
“Akaashi! Welcome back!” Bokuto let out a drawn-out yell, but never let up on the game. You managed nothing more than a quick greeting, not risking any sort of mistake.  
  
The lackeys had started spawning again, but by now you and Bokuto had worked out a system. You drew aggro from them and kept them under control while Bokuto kept laying on the punishment on the boss unit. There were some intense close calls, but there was something different this time. You could feel it. If you glanced to the side, you could tell by his concentrated expression that Bokuto knew it, too.  
  
Akaashi left the two of you alone and opened his laptop at his desk. He shot an annoyed glance at Bokuto's improvised seat, hogging all of the pillows in the room, but made no comment.  
  
Slowly, the boss' health trickled down further. Your breath almost caught in your throat. Was this going to be the one?  
  
After a gruelling couple of minutes, finally the victory music echoed through the small dorm room. Bokuto yelled and sprung up from his pillow chair, raising his arms in the air with balled fists. You tried to get up as well but the bean bag held you hostage without mercy. Bokuto laughed when he saw your efforts and grabbed onto your hand to pull you out.  
  
“Hey hey hey!!” His yell was so loud that you worried he'd wake neighbours. What time was it anyway? Akaashi was already back so it must have been late. “We did it! We are _amazing_!”  
  
You yelped when Bokuto grabbed your waist and lifted you into the air to spin around. You clutched onto his shoulders and laughed after the initial shock passed by. He set you down with surprising gentleness and proudly put his hands on his hips.  
  
Running a hand through your hair, you tried to get rid of the fluster that crept up your cheeks. “Aw man, you were awesome, Bokuto-san!” you said, your voice's volume rising alongside Bokuto's. “The way you laid it on him at the end!”  
  
Bokuto laughed loudly and looked very pleased with himself, but you could see Akaashi twitch from the corner of your eyes.  
  
“He couldn't do it by himself, though,” Akaashi said, not even looking up from his computer screen. At a glance, it seemed he was watching video footage of volleyball games.  
  
“Gah, Akaashi, don't bring me down like that!” But despite those words, Bokuto did not seem particularly put down. “Besides, what are you doing home this early? Couldn't bear to be apart from me too long, could you?” Another boisterous laugh.  
  
The look Akaashi gave Bokuto was absolutely dead-pan, even by his standards. “Don't get too full of yourself. I was just done early,” he said, turning his attention back to the laptop.  
  
Bokuto grinned at Akaashi, but when he opened his mouth, his roommate cut him off.  
  
“Please put my stuff back on my bed.”  
  
“Yeah, yeah, don’t worry about it!” Bokuto leaned down to pick up the pillows and blankets, and threw them on their respective beds.  
  
“And next time ask before you steal them.”  
  
“Borrow them! Akaashi, I just borrowed them!”  
  
Their antics made you chuckle, but when you checked the time you saw it was only just past eleven. You looked up from your phone and caught Akaashi’s eyes. He had a light frown on his face, an expression you couldn’t place.  
  
Before you had the chance to overthink it, the irresistible urge to yawn came over you and you quickly covered your mouth. Realisation dawned that if you stuck around, you risked getting sucked into another game, and it might be wiser to go back to your room for some sleep.  
  
You picked up your beer can from the floor and gestured to Bokuto with it. “Where should I leave this?”  
  
He shook his head and took the can from you. “I’ll take care of that, thanks again.”  
  
You saw Akaashi watch the exchange, then nervously ran a hand through your hair and blushed. “I’m so sorry, I brought a can of beer for you as a thanks for last night, but Bokuto-san-”  
  
“Just drop the ‘-san’ already!”  
  
“- Bokuto said you don’t drink...” You trailed off and grimaced at him. “I’ll find another way to thank you, okay?”  
  
Akaashi stood up from his seat and walked over to his bed to properly arrange his pillow and blanket. “You don’t need to go out of your way to do that, okay?” he said, not even looking at you.  
  
You felt a little dejected, but tried to shake it off and smiled. Bokuto had been following the exchange closely and blinked at Akaashi. Then he grinned and leaned in closely to you.  
  
“That means, ‘Thank you but I have no idea how to deal with gratitude’,” he whispered in your ear.  
  
A pillow crashed into the back of his head. “Please don’t put words in my mouth.”  
  
Bokuto bristled at Akaashi. “Akaashi! Watch it, you’re not getting this pillow back!” Akaashi did not look particularly impressed by the threat.  
  
You looked back and forth between the two and sighed. Bokuto only had a very loose grip on the pillow and was paying no attention to you whatsoever. With a quick yank, you stole the pillow from Bokuto and immediately followed up by throwing it back to Akaashi. He caught it without even blinking.  
  
Bokuto nearly exploded with indignation. “What! I thought you were on my side!”  
  
However, you kept your gaze on Akaashi, who gave you an appreciative nod. “Call it even now? You gave me a place to crash, I protect your pillow from this guy here?” You point your thumb at Bokuto, who was still staring at you in shock.  
  
The next moment made your heart skip at least one beat.  
  
Akaashi looked at you and a warm smile crept onto his face. “Deal.”  
  
The fluster was real.  
  
Dammit.  
  
You quickly said your goodbyes and wished the guys a good night. Once outside, you forced yourself to take a deep breath. You berated yourself as you ticked off your own telltale signs of an incoming crush. And a bad one, too.  
  
You shook your head and took another deep breath. This was something you could deal with later. First order of business was to get some sleep. Yes. Sleep. Because there was no reason for you to lay awake for hours, now. Not at all.  


* * *

  
Bokuto kept shooting looks at Akaashi, who was brushing his teeth. He could tell his roommate was starting to lose patience with him, but this was just too good to ignore.  
  
“Akaashi~” he said, drawing out the name, “didn’t you complain today that you had gotten so much homework?”  
  
His friend’s eye twitched, but could only respond with a blank look, toothbrush in his mouth.  
  
“I thought you’d be stuck in the library until it closed again! Lucky for you!”  
  
Not rising to the bait, Akaashi finished brushing his teeth in his own pace, then rinsed. He stood up straight to look at Bokuto, who wore a wide grin on his face.  
  
“Bokuto-san, is there a point to this?”  
  
Bokuto shook his head and fell back on his bed. “Just thought I’d mention it.”  
  
Akaashi frowned at Bokuto, but again refused to be provoked.  
  
Taking a deep breath, Bokuto relaxed and melted deeper into the bed. Maybe his conclusions were a bit too hasty (he did not exactly have a good track record for being right about this kind of stuff), but Bokuto could not help but grin at his roommate and wonder when Akaashi would figure it out himself.


	3. Chapter 3

Over the next few weeks, you started to fall into a comfortable rhythm. Aya’s relationship stayed strong, so you came to an arrangement where she did extra nice things for you in exchange for giving them some privacy. The room across the hall turned into a welcome refuge, though Bokuto was not always there, in which case you ended up going to the library after all. Also, there were plenty of days where you had much work that you could not possibly justify slacking off for the entire evening to play video games.  
  
This evening you tried to get some work done in your room, though. It was one of those rare moments where you actually got to see Aya’s girlfriend, rather than know her as the unknown entity that drove you out of your room.  
  
Doing homework at your desk, you could hear them chatting from Aya’s bed. Somehow Yuki had managed to convince Aya to let her polish her nails, and Yuki was now busy creating elaborate patterns. To your amusement, this meant Aya had to sit very still, which was not exactly one of her strengths.  
  
You frowned when someone knocked on the door, and Aya shrugged at you. Nobody was expecting anyone. A quick look through the peephole, and your frown deepened.  
  
Opening the door, you smiled at Akaashi. “Hey, what’s going on?” For as far as you could remember, this was the first time he initiated contact outside of classes (and even in class it was rather sparse). Instantly you could tell something was wrong, by his furrowed brows and the sullen look on his face.  
  
“Sorry to disturb you, but I could really use your help with Bokuto-san.”  
  
You blinked at him.  
  
He sighed and crossed his arms. “He had a bad morning practise and is pretty out of it. He’s been moping all day. Me and the team have been trying to get him out of his slump but I was hoping you’d have more success.”  
  
“Uhm.” You blinked some more. “Sure but, I don’t know if I’ll be of any use? You know him a lot better than me, I’m not sure what to do.”  
  
“That’s not an issue,” he said, shaking his head. “You just need to praise him about pretty much anything. Don’t worry about sounding over the top, it is almost impossible to go too far.” Akaashi looked at you, and you could swear his eyes were pleading you. “If it’s not too much trouble, could you help me out?”  
  
You grinned at him. After all the times Akaashi and Bokuto had helped you get through the evening, it would not do to let them down now. “I think I have something. Is it okay to bring up volleyball or should I avoid the subject?”  
  
Akaashi shrugged. “I don’t think it matters, as long as you don’t directly bring up today’s practise.”  
  
Nodding slowly, you set your brain to work on the best way to formulate everything. You told Aya that you’d be back soon, and followed Akaashi across the hall.  
  
He opened the door for you and announced his entry to Bokuto. You blinked when you saw him. Akaashi definitely had understated his condition. Waves of dejection came off him while he sat on his bed, arms around his knees. He’d been pouting at the wall, but his eyes widened when he spotted you.  
  
“Akaa-”  
  
“She has something to tell you, that’s why she’s here,” Akaashi said, cutting off whatever Bokuto had wanted to say.  
  
You smiled at him and waved, then walked a little further into the room. “Is it okay if I sit here?” you asked, gesturing towards the bed. Bokuto shrugged, which you took as permission to settle down next to him. “I finally got the chance to watch those videos of last year’s nationals.”  
  
Though he had been fidgeting around at first, Bokuto now became very still. Despite Akaashi’s earlier words, you hoped you hadn’t made a mistake by mentioning something related to volleyball.  
  
“You really looked super cool,” you continued, smiling widely at him. “That deciding spike against Chuo University, you blew through those huge blockers like they were nothing!”  
  
It could be your imagination, but Bokuto seemed to perk up a little.  
  
“Ah, I remember that,” Akaashi said. “You were in top-form that day, Bokuto-san. It was very impressive.”  
  
His shoulders twitched a little.  
  
You leaned a little closer. “To be fair, I don’t know much about volleyball, but I thought you were the most awesome player on the field. Your team is super lucky to have such a reliable ace.”  
  
He trembled a little, and you were about to continue when he burst on his feet, balling his fists and grinning widely. “Aahhh, I really am awesome, aren’t I!” he exclaimed, and you winced from the volume. “Hey hey hey!!”  
  
Akaashi and you made eye-contact, and he nodded at you in thanks.  
  
You watched Bokuto cheerfully bounce around the room and slapping Akaashi on the shoulder. Mission accomplished.  
  
Before you returned to your own room, you could not escape from talking with Bokuto about previous matches for a while - or rather, listen to him babble about his own accomplishments while you stayed quiet and smiled. Since Bokuto was out of his slump, Akaashi did not hold back any more and gave his usual honest commentary. Sometimes in Bokuto’s favour, sometimes much less so.  
  
Now he was no longer stuck in his depression, Bokuto still protested but seemed to take it all in stride. At his insistence, you promised to come see one of their matches for real sometime, then you said your goodbyes and left.  
  
Once again, Akaashi walked you out.  
  
He left the door open a crack and sighed. “Thank you for helping out,” he said, glancing back to the room. “Usually we can manage on our own, but I guess he needed to hear it from someone outside the team today.”  
  
You grinned. “Even someone like Bokuto gets depressed, huh?”  
  
When Akaashi twitched, you wondered if you said something wrong. “Bokuto-san has very fickle moods,” he said, fiddling with his hands. “I’m more surprised it took this long for you to see him like this, he can get dejected over the smallest things.”  
  
Nodding along with his words, you listened intently. “Well, glad I could help!” You knew how awful it was to get stuck in a bad mood, and knowing this was a regular occurrence only made you happier that you were able to cheer him up. “Don’t hesitate to ask again.”  
  
A small smile appeared on his face, and you could feel your cheeks heat up at the sight. “Then I won’t.”  
  
You wished each other good night and went into your respective rooms. Aya and her girlfriend were still sitting on her bed, but she had a petulant expression and kept wiggling her fingers. Yuki grinned at you and grabbed Aya’s wrist, showing off the little kittens she had painted with nail polish.  
  
After admiring the nail art, you returned back to the essays that were waiting urgently for you. However, The work was not as bad as before, with the memory of Bokuto’s laughter and Akaashi’s smile fuelling you.  


* * *

  
Glad that his friend was no longer feeling so despondent, Akaashi was happy to listen to him chat about the new tricks he was going to try out at practise tomorrow.  
  
Truly, Bokuto’s mood swings were a power to behold. It was as though the bad practise of this morning had never happened. Even when Akaashi pointed out that some of those ideas were simply impossible, Bokuto still did not get depressed again.  
  
Today had been a bad one, too. Not even the manager’s encouraging and borderline flirty words had pulled Bokuto out of his slump.  
  
Akaashi shot a look at the door, thinking back on your help. Turning to you had been kind of a last resort, a long shot. Honestly, he had been surprised at the efficiency of your words. True, Akaashi hoped that going to someone outside the team, a new presence who rarely praised Bokuto like that, would have the desired effect, but you barely got out two sentences before he perked up again.  
  
Perhaps Bokuto’s mood had already been going in the right direction, with all the previous praise the team had laid on him.  
  
Akaashi looked at his friend, who had put on headphones to watch a series on his laptop, happily bobbing along his head with the opening song. He thought back on the previous weeks, the fun you and Bokuto were having and how often you hung around here now.  
  
Perhaps there was another reason you had such a positive effect on Bokuto.  
  
He sighed, not quite sure what to think about that.  
  
It probably was too early to draw any kind of conclusion. He’d just have to wait and see what happened.


	4. Chapter 4

As soon as the date of their next practise match was known, Bokuto messaged you once with the details, and at least three consecutive times with a reminder and the question whether you’d come.  
  
As much as you adored Bokuto and his enthusiasm, slowly but surely this started to drive you a little insane. One time your phone lit up during class, with Akaashi sitting next to you. He rose an eyebrow in question when you groaned upon reading the message, and you pushed the phone in his direction.  
  
He chuckled and asked you how many times that had been by now.  
  
“Bokuto-san loves having an audience,” he said while you walked to the cafeteria together, and you smiled at the hint of affection in his voice. “It gets him fired up even more easily. Usually the team has to cheer him on beforehand.”  
  
You couldn’t help but laugh. “He sounds like a handful,” you said with a grin, “but” - your expression turned more serious - “he really did look amazing in those videos I saw. Or is that just me? I mean, I don’t know anything about volleyball so...”  
  
Akaashi shook his head. “In high school Bokuto-san just missed out on being one of the top three spikers in the country.” You let out a low whistle. “And honestly, that is just because of his mood-swings. Once he gets doing, any team would have a hard time stopping him.”  
  
Patiently, you continued to listen to Akaashi talk about volleyball. Occasionally you asked a question, but were content to let him do the talking. It was not often you got him going like this. You always loved listening to people talk about their passions, and while Akaashi was not the most emotive person you knew, his love for the sport and his team still showed in the way he talked about it. His interactions with Bokuto might seem a little unfriendly to an unknowing outsider, but you knew for sure they had been close friends for a long time now.  
  
During lunch, you were joined by the aforementioned Bokuto, whom you instantly reassured that yes, you were coming to watch them, and yes, you knew the right date (“Bokuto, seriously it’s tomorrow, I haven’t forgotten”), yes that’s the right time, don’t worry about it. Eventually you managed to get him to let it go by showing the mark in your phone’s agenda.  
  
Well, at least the practise match was tomorrow, and the constant reminders would finally be over.  
  
The three of you parted ways after lunch, since Akaashi had a different class than you. The day proceeded like normal, though you spent the evening by yourself doing homework, with Aya away for a late practise.  
  
Next day, you saw neither Akaashi nor Bokuto until the match. Since they had practise beforehand, you went to the gym alone. Akaashi had given you very clear directions to the right place, and you found it without a hitch. You could hear the noise of volleyballs making heavy impact and the squeaking of sport shoes even from outside.  
  
Sticking your head around the corner, you saw the members of the team hard at work. A couple other people walked around who did not seem to be actually involved with sports, perhaps also here to watch the match.  
  
You saw Bokuto and Akaashi before they spotted you, busy practising spikes together. One of the managers walked up to you and smiled. She correctly identified you as their friend, then pointed at a spot where you could watch safely. Also, she pointed out a couple of fold-up chairs leaning against the wall, in case you preferred to sit.  
  
Slowly, you made your way to the area she had indicated. Bokuto caught sight of you and waved enthusiastically, causing him to be scolded by his teammates for not paying attention. Akaashi looked around to find you, then nodded as a means of greeting. You stifled a laugh at Bokuto’s antics and gave them a small wave back. A couple other people gathered around you, all other students at your school. Though there were one or two friends, almost all of them were a partner from one of the team-members, shouting encouragements at their boyfriends.

* * *

  
“Cute neighbour you guys have, Akaashi,” Yukie said. The manager grinned at the setter, but Akaashi did not rise to the bait.  
  
Bokuto did instead.  
  
“Isn’t she the best, Yukie-chan?” he said as he jogged up to the sidelines, done with practise for now. The other team should arrive any second, so it was time for a break. “She even plays video games, it’s amazing! She’s so much better at them than I am!”  
  
Akaashi sighed. “That’s not surprising considering how bad you are at them, Bokuto-san. You get distracted too much.”  
  
Bokuto made a startled noise and flailed. “Akaashi! Don’t put me down like that!”  
  
Shaking her head, Yukie bumped her elbow in Akaashi’s side. “For once I agree with him, Akaashi! We’re about to have a match,” she said in a whisper, always keeping a close eye on their ace and his mood. In the meanwhile, Bokuto had wandered off to talk to Kuroo, perhaps to complain about how mean everyone was being.  
  
Yukie looked at the small group of spectators, one hand on her hip the other rubbing her chin. Then she grinned at Akaashi.  
  
“So, should we tell Bokuto that she’s been making eyes at him? He seems to like her, I’m guessing it will be really effective.”  
  
Even by Akaashi’s standards, he quickly came to the conclusion that was a bad idea and shook his head. It was one thing to have Bokuto think some random girl was admiring him, but they saw you on a regular basis and to plant that kind of seed in Bokuto’s head could lead to all sorts of trouble - especially since Akaashi was not entirely sure what Bokuto’s feelings towards you were. Also, it simply was not respectful towards you.  
  
He glanced at Bokuto, who was laughing hard at a stupid pun Kuroo had made. “Just have the team praise him for now, he seems to be in a pretty good mood already.”  
  
She winked and gave him a thumbs up.  
  
Their opponents just arrived when Yukie commented to Bokuto how cool he looked during practise today. Akaashi’s eyes narrowed and he tried to gauge their mood and condition for today.

* * *

  
You watched the match with interest, eyes widening and gasping lightly at plays that seemed particularly impressive to you. Bokuto seemed in good spirits, consistently scoring points and being very loud about it. It made you smile, especially whenever you saw Akaashi talk to Bokuto and could tell from the latter’s reaction that it had been a compliment.  
  
The scoreboard seemed to indicate that the match was going in their favour, though the other team was regrouping and never made it easy for them.  
  
Honestly, you did not know enough about volleyball to really understand the intricacies of what went on. The guys had explained to you about the various positions and basic rules, but all the different tactics that were involved now went over your head.  
  
Still, even you could tell that one tall blocker in particular gave Bokuto a lot of trouble. It did not take long for Bokuto’s annoyance to become visible. The memory of his dejected state, only a couple of days ago, was seared into your brain and you bit your lip, hoping he could pull through.  
  
The rest of the team yelled encouragements at Bokuto and though you could not hear him from here, Akaashi took him apart for a second and said something that seemed to renew some of his energy.  
  
When you caught his eye, you grinned and gave him a double thumbs up. _“Hang in there!”_ Perhaps it was only in your imagination, but he seemed to perk up even more.  
  
In the end, Bokuto found his groove again and though the team had been doing well so far, this seemed to give them the extra edge they needed to increase the score gap, and finally reel in the win.  
  
After the teams thanked one another, Bokuto ran up to you, a wide grin stuck on his face. He looked like he was on top of the world right now. Someone yelled at him to join the team for a talk with the coaches, but he just waved. “I’ll be there in a second!”  
  
Bokuto stopped in front of you, face shiny with sweat and happiness coming off him in waves.  
  
“You were awesome, Bokuto!” You balled your fists and stared at the ace, all admiration. On video it had already looked impressive enough to you, but seeing the action in person was a whole different thing. The force behind those spikes, the level of trust and teamwork involved; your respect for the sport, and for Akaashi and Bokuto as players, had increased substantially.  
  
Throwing his head back, Bokuto laughed loudly. Considering how well they had played, you could hardly fault him for his brazen confidence. “Thank you for coming to watch!”  
  
Someone yelled at him again, and Bokuto twitched, giving his teammate an annoyed look. At you, he grinned instead.  
  
“We’ll talk again soon, right?”  
  
Before even giving you a chance to respond, Bokuto slapped you on the shoulder and then ran back to the team, where people waited impatiently for him. Catching Akaashi’s eye, you gave him a small wave then left the gym.  
  
You never noticed the looks that some of the bystanders had given you and Bokuto, nor their conspiratorial whispers after you left.

* * *

  
“Was that your girlfriend, Bokuto? I didn’t know you had one!” Komi asked Bokuto while cleaning up, after they had the brief. “Man, she sure is cute.”  
  
Frowning, Akaashi listened for Bokuto’s response.  
  
Bokuto laughed sheepishly. “No no, she is just my adorable underclassman and neighbour! We’re very lucky to have her, aren’t we, Akaashi!”  
  
Akaashi let out a soft grunt. “Yes, we are,” he agreed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One of the pro's of self-indulgent fanfic is that I get to pretend Kuroo goes to the same university as the owls~ Will come up more later.


	5. Chapter 5

With the clock nearing midnight, Akaashi packed his things and left the library. Volleyball practise had taken up so much of his time, he had actually started falling behind on some of his classes. Fortunately, tonight he managed to correct most of that. Bokuto would probably still be up, considering how hyperactive he had been when Akaashi left the room.  
  
The night air was cool against Akaashi’s skin; the weather had taken a definitely dip in temperature the last couple of days. He quickly reached the entrance to the dorm building, though, and just walking up the stairs to his corridor warmed him back up again.  
  
From outside the door he could already hear voices. Ah, sounded like you had come over again. It had been a while since you’d visited, with practise keeping Akaashi and Bokuto out late, and a particular professor of yours had upped the pressure, locking you in the library until midnight on a regular basis.  
  
Akaashi entered and blinked when he saw you and Bokuto sitting on his bed, rather than the expected spots for video games. You were facing each other, cross-legged, with a game of uno going on between you.  
  
“Hey, Akaashi! Welcome back!”  
  
Bokuto grinned, and you turned around to give a small wave, then returned your attention to the game and ongoing conversation. “So, what’d yours be? Spill it, owlboy!”  
  
However, Akaashi had trouble paying attention to the chatter, distracted by the jacket on your shoulders. A jacket from their university’s volleyball team. The gears in his head worked, remembering that Bokuto’s had left his back at the club room today.  
  
“I don’t think I can go wrong with Saitama-sensei on my team,” Bokuto said, tapping his chin. Then he put down a card and sat back.  
  
You nodded in approval. “Okay, that’s _so_ ridiculously overpowered, but I’ll let it slide. Who else? Oh, by the way, suck on this.” Akaashi couldn’t see the card you put down from here, but judging by Bokuto’s strangled cry of frustration, he could make an educated guess.  
  
Pouting, Bokuto whined as he drew extra cards, then sighed and answered your question. “There is no such thing as overpowered when there’s an apocalypse involved! Hmm... who else... Silver Fang.”  
  
“Oh-ho? Not bad, I thought you’d pick Genos for the combo, but hey, go with the old bad-ass. I can respect that.”  
  
Bokuto shook his head. “Need some experience on my post-apocalyptic team if we want to survive!” You pointed out he'd probably be fine with two insane powerhouses like that, but were ignored. Bokuto was too busy studying his cards, trying to come up with a strategy to save him from complete and utter defeat (you held two cards, he had a whole handful). Then Bokuto caught Akaashi's eyeand managed to read his expression. He glanced at you with a grimace.  
  
You turned around to look at Akaashi, then down at the jacket you were wearing. “Oh, Akaashi-san, I’m so sorry, I forgot! Bokuto said it was okay?” You bit your lip and tugged at a sleeve.  
  
“She was getting cold, it was my duty as a gentleman and senpai to make sure she got warmed up again!” Bokuto grinned like an idiot, as though it was the height of courteous behaviour to borrow a girl someone else’s clothes. “You don’t mind, right!”  
  
Akaashi shrugged. He really did not, he had just been caught off guard. Honestly, it looked good on you. “It’s fine.”  
  
You smiled at him. “Thanks, Akaashi-san. Hey, do you want to join in?”  
  
A quick glance at the clock, a moment of consideration, then Akaashi shrugged again and pulled up a desk chair to the bed.  
  
Grinning at you, Bokuto put down his large pile of cards. “That means we start over, right?”  
  
You laughed and reshuffled the deck. “Oh, I don’t mind, Bokuto, I can kick your butt all over again.” Cards were dealt, challenging looks exchanged, and the game got started.  
  
“So, Akaashi-san,” you said, after playing your first card. “A zombie apocalypse just got started. You get to pick two people to team up with.”  
  
He gave you a deadpan look, then sighed and gave the topic more serious thought than it warranted. A couple rounds later, surrounded by the sound of Bokuto and you trash-talking each other, he looked up and cleared his throat. The room instantly went quiet.  
  
“Major Kusanagi and Spike Spiegel.”  
  
Bokuto let out a derisive hoot. “My team kicks your team’s ass,” he said, almost shouting the last word.  
  
“Should a zombie apocalypse occur, I’m confident enough in my own abilities that I won’t need ridiculously overpowered superheroes saving my skin. We will get by just fine.”  
  
You snickered behind your hand, Bokuto pouted and was about to protest loudly, when you smacked down another draw four card on him. He cried out your name and whined. “You two are ganging up on me! This isn’t fair!”  
  
“So you like the classics, huh?” you said, completely ignoring Bokuto.  
  
He shrugged. “They’re classics for a reason.”  
  
To be fair, drawing reactions out of Bokuto had been so much fun all evening, that you did actually use every opportunity to pick on him. The game quickly turned into a highly personal and intense warfare between the two of you, with Akaashi eventually swooping in for an easy win. Child’s play.  
  
When the time came to leave, you reluctantly took off Akaashi’s jacket and made a small noise. You smiled begrudgingly when you handed it back to him.  
  
“Thank you for letting Bokuto borrow me this,” you said, then climbed off the bed and made your way to the door. “And thanks for tonight, Bokuto! I had fun!”  
  
Not quite ready to forgive you for denying him his victory, Bokuto grumbled.  
  
You grinned and winked at him. “Better luck next time.” With a last wave, you disappeared out the door.  
  
Akaashi folded up his jacket and put it back in his dresser. (He totally did not stick his nose in the folds of the collar to smell, and even if he did, it was only to check if it needed wash. No other motives were involved whatsoever.)  
  
“Aaahh, that woman is going to be the death of me, Akaashi,” Bokuto lamented, falling back on his bed. “I’ve never met someone who kicks my ass so much in games.”  
  
“Actually, I did the ass-kicking today,” Akaashi pointed out, making Bokuto laugh out loud.  
  
“And who made that possible!” Bokuto shook his head and stretched his arms out, stifling a yawn. “I’m telling you, Akaashi, that lady is trouble.”  
  
Akaashi kept silent, not quite managing to disagree with that statement. Yet somehow, in no way did this mean you were a bad thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Character references are; Saitama, Silver Fox and Genos are from One Punch Man. Spike Spiegel is from Cowboy Bebop. Major Kusanagi Motoko is from the Ghost in the Shell series. Kept the reader's choice 'off-camera' on purpose because I'm sure everyone has their own ideas on this~


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a short one!

Bokuto made things so easy for you.  
  
You were still amazed by how fast you had become so comfortable around him.  
  
The usual worries about messing up and letting people down seemed to fade away when you played co-op games together. Anxieties over making him angry when you had a winning strike in PvP-mode stayed on the background; often he took his losses in stride, only getting more fanatic about winning next time, but even if he got into a funk, you had discovered quickly that just losing once on purpose was usually enough to get him fired up again.  
  
He cheered you up so easily, too.  
  
By now you felt free enough to take initiative in the contact, and more and more often you asked him to hang out when the stress of school or other things threatened to dominate your mood.  
  
It truly surprised you; active and excitable people usually felt tiresome to be around with, as though they drained you of your energy to feed their own. Being around Bokuto felt nothing like that; his happy disposition was so infectious that sometimes you worried that maybe you cost him a lot of energy.  
  
However, Bokuto was nothing if not straightforward, and he never mentioned anything, nor could you find any signs in his behaviour that you might exhaust him.  
  
It was so nice to be around Bokuto.  
  
“Oi, you dirty cheater!”  
  
You kicked your foot at him, but the grinning boy was out of your reach. Today’s choice was a racing game he had borrowed from one of his teammates, but it was becoming increasingly obvious that Bokuto had a lot of experience playing this already. Including extensive knowledge of cheats and exploitable glitches.  
  
“How do you _do_ that?” you said, gritting your teeth in frustration. His vehicle kept blurring on the screen, then suddenly jumped ahead in the blink of an eye. Sometimes he almost glitched himself off the route, but overall it enabled him to keep ahead of you, no matter how well you were playing. “Okay, that’s it, when we finish this round you’re teaching me that trick or no more racing games.”  
  
Bokuto just laughed in response and you tried to see what he was doing when he glitched again, but you couldn’t afford to look away from the screen for too long.  
  
Both of you blinked at the TV when Bokuto’s vehicle glitched out of the game entirely and never reappeared.  
  
While Bokuto shouted at the game and smashed every button on his controller, you laughed almost manically and finished the round at your leisure. He pouted at you, but this did nothing to diminish the large grin on your face.  
  
“Serves you right!”  
  
Bokuto whined and launched into a half-hearted speech about unintended game features and how completely legit they were, but you just stuck out your tongue at him.  
  
“Aw, you’re just sore that even cheating can’t help you win.”  
  
He lightly whapped you in the arm, then dodged out of reach when you tried to retaliate. “Fine, fine, I guess I had it coming,” he said, and you nodded in vigorous agreement. “Another round?”  
  
You narrowed your eyes at him. Bokuto chuckled.  
  
“Trust me, I won’t try this again.”  
  
“Riight.” You stared at him, having played enough games with Bokuto to know when he was bullshitting you. Sighing, you gestured at him to go ahead and he started up another round, with a different map this time.  
  
True to his word, Bokuto did not use the jumping glitch again ...however, there had been no deal about the other seven game-breaking bugs.  
  
But even despite his blatant cheating, Bokuto was just so _comforting_ to be around.


	7. Chapter 7

Damned professors who thought it was a good idea to spring multiple essays on their students in a short amount of time. You scribbled furiously on your paper, to the amusement of Akaashi. He rarely saw you this fired up to do homework (something you were grateful for).  
  
Lately, Akaashi and you had gotten into the habit sharing a table in the library. You did not converse much, since there was a lot of work to do, but you still appreciated the company.  
  
Most of the time.  
  
Considering Bokuto was the exuberant upperclassman, you had expected that he would be the one who’d you have trouble not feeling anxious around. However, it did not take more than two nights of playing video games together to make being put at ease by him go so incredibly effortless.  
  
On the other hand, Akaashi still made you feel self-conscious and nervous on a regular basis. By now you were vaguely aware of your low-key crush on him, but that was not all.  
  
Though you could usually figure out whether he was annoyed or happy with something, it was hard to read further into his mood. As a contrast, Bokuto’s transparency was somewhat reassuring. That boy could not hide his feelings if his life depended on it. This left you relatively free from worry about whether you had said something annoying, or acted the wrong way around him. If you did, you’d know right away.  
  
A logical part of you reasoned that while Akaashi’s facial expression could sometimes leave you guessing, he never shied away from speaking bluntly to others (as you had experienced yourself the last time that you and Bokuto played a game for too long in the night).  
  
You sighed and wished your anxieties would just leave you alone when it came to Akaashi. For some reason you just were not feeling well tonight. Perhaps it was the increased workload?  
  
A quick glance in his direction told you that Akaashi was focused working on an assignment, probably completely unaware of the thoughts that were harassing you. You strengthened your resolve and returned your attention back to your homework as well.  
  
For a long time you managed to stay on track, but towards the end of the evening you concentration started to dwindle. You had to fight the urge to doodle in the margins of your notes, or stare at passersby outside. The library slowly emptied around you, and you were amongst the last when you finally packed up your things, five minutes to midnight.  
  
Akaashi yawned and stretched out his arms before picking up his bag, then waited for you to be done.  
  
On the way back, without studies to distract you, your thoughts threatened to spin out of control, endlessly grinding over your worries. _He probably hates me. He only puts up with me because I’m friends with his roommate._ You breathed in deeply and tried to empty your head. Unsuccessfully.  
  
You hadn’t meant to say it out loud. You had intended to bury it deep inside yourself, locking it up and never bothering anyone else with this. Yet somehow, you found the words spilling out of your mouth.  
  
“Akaashi-san... you would tell me if I’m annoying you, right?”  
  
His eyes widened and he looked at you with a shocked expression. Still, his voice was level when he spoke. “(Name)-san, where is this coming from?”  
  
You froze for a moment, wondering if this was real. Did that just really came out of your mouth? The two of you came to a halt, Akaashi’s eyes looking at you with such focus that it made you even more uncomfortable. But a part of you realised that now you had started this (no matter how unintentional), there was no running away.  
  
“Yeah, uhm, I’m sorry to bother you with this but,” you said, playing with a strand of hair and carefully avoiding eye-contact, “it’s just that sometimes I’m worried that I, well, am bothering you.”  
  
You clasped your hands together and stared at the ground, feeling your face heat up and tears threatening to burn behind your eyes. Dammit, you really should not have told him this.  
  
“I’m really surprised you feel this way.”  
  
His words came out blunt as ever, but when you gathered the courage to look at him, there was a softness in his face you did not often see. He rubbed the back of his head.  
  
“I didn’t know things like that were troubling you.”  
  
You bit your lip and stared at him. What was he saying? He looked confused and you felt incredibly guilty over burdening him with this. It had been selfish of you. You bowed and shut your eyes tightly. “Akaashi-san, please forget about this. I am so sorry for bothering you with this, I shouldn’t have.”  
  
When a hand touched your shoulder, you jumped. Akaashi pushed you back upright and shook his head. “You keep using that word, I wished you wouldn’t.” The warmth of his hand felt comforting. “I’ve told you before, haven’t I? You’re not a bother to me.”  
  
You shot him a sideways glance, still chewing on your lip.  
  
With a sigh, he removed the hand from your shoulder. “All right then, I am sure it won’t come up but, if it helps you, I promise I will tell you whenever that changes.”  
  
It was like a weight got lifted from your chest, and it became easier to breathe.  
  
“Thank you, Akaashi-san.” You muttered the words under your breath, and it was only because his lips tugged upwards that you knew for sure that he even heard. “I’m sor-” You caught yourself and took a deep breath. “Just... thank you.”  
  
Dammit, there was that small smile again, always enough to make your cheeks flush bright red.  
  
“It’s getting pretty late, let’s head back.”  
  
You nodded and together you walked to the dorms in silence, but it was a comfortable one. The knot in your chest had relaxed a little.  
  
When you reached your rooms, Akaashi stopped and fiddled with his fingers. He avoided looking at you until he finally spoke up.  
  
“Thank you for telling me. That can’t have been an easy thing to do.”  
  
You swallowed thickly. Part of you wanted to contradict him, to point out how selfish you had been to burden him with your feelings, that it was absolutely ridiculous of him to thank you.  
  
Instead, you stayed quiet and smiled.  
  
Akaashi frowned and you had a feeling that he saw straight through you. To your relief, he did not mention it. “Take care, okay?”  
  
Your smile became a touch more genuine. “I will. Good night, Akaashi-san.”


	8. Chapter 8

With a sudden start you woke up, sitting upright in the bed. A muffled noise disturbed the silence, causing you to groan and pull your pillow over your head - but it did not do much to help you fall back to sleep. You sighed and threw your pillow to the side, mentally willing the noise to go away. It sounded mostly like voices, a louder one punctuating through the muffle every now and again.  
  
On the other side of the room, Aya’s steady breathing told you she was still asleep, blissfully unaware of your predicament. If you wanted this to stop, you would have to take action yourself.  
  
Another loud groan escaped you and you forced yourself out of bed. After listening for a moment, you were fairly sure you knew where the sounds were coming from. You put on a cosy vest over your t-shirt, then left the comfort of your warm room.  
  
Outside, you could tell for sure that your guess had been right. The voices came from straight across the hallway. You sighed. Well, at least that made this slightly less nerve-wrecking.  
  
You took a deep breath, gathered your courage, and knocked on the door.  
  
The voices quieted a little, then the door opened and you were greeted by Akaashi’s exasperated expression. “I told them they were being too loud.”  
  
Inside, you could see Bokuto and a couple of other guys sitting spread over the beds and floor. All of them were vaguely familiar to you, faces you had seen before when you came to watch the practise match. The TV was on, but nobody seemed to be watching the screen. A couple of heads turned towards you, and Bokuto had the grace to flush red when he realised why you had come over at this time in the night. Conversation fell silent.  
  
“Hey, it’s cute neighbour girl!” said a short guy with dark brown hair and an undercut.  
  
Even in your half-asleep state, the comment was enough to send a blush to your cheeks. Bokuto glared at him and thumped in him the arm. “Hey, no bothering (Name). I won’t allow you to harass my precious underclassman.”  
  
You blinked at Bokuto and felt the blush intensify tenfold, leaving you unsure how to respond to those words or what to do with the situation. Eventually you decided to just ignore them and turned back to Akaashi, trying to force the redness out of your face. “Is it at all possible to keep the noise down a little? Just a little quieter is fine.”  
  
Akaashi hesitated, obviously unwilling to make promises he could not keep.  
  
“No problem!” Bokuto said, not at all keeping his voice down. “Sorry we woke you up!”  
  
The twitch in Akaashi’s face told you he felt as much confidence in Bokuto’s ability to quiet down as you did.  
  
One of the others, a tall guy with black hair that stuck upwards in a wild mess, stood up and walked over to you. “Oya, so this is her?” His grin was almost feline, and not at all calming and reassuring like Bokuto’s always was. He stuck out a hand to you. “I’m Kuroo, it’s nice to finally meet you.”  
  
You swallowed thickly, various thoughts flitting through your mind. Had Bokuto or Akaashi been talking about you? What had they been saying? After a long moment of hesitation, you shook Kuroo’s hand. “Yeah, you are on the volleyball team, too, right? I think I’ve seen you during the practise match?”  
  
“Ooh, did I make enough of an impression for you to remember me?”  
  
He held onto your hand just a second longer than necessary, stood just an inch closer than was comfortable, and you could feel waves of annoyance coming off Akaashi. You readjusted the way you stood, subtly taking a step backwards. A couple of deep breaths, and you calmed back down. You almost missed the movement, but Akaashi stepped slightly forward, creating a small buffer between you and Kuroo.  
  
“Well, your hair is pretty memorable. Does it take you long to get it to stick up like that?” you asked.  
  
Kuroo visibly winced and a couple of the guys laughed out loud. You gave Akaashi a confused look but he shook his head, then scolded at Kuroo. “Never mind him, he’s just a pain in the ass.”  
  
You took another small step backwards, but Kuroo had already slunk back to his seat, whapping one of the guys that had laughed on the head. He winked at you when he caught you looking, and your gaze dropped to the floor while you bit your lip. You missed the glare Akaashi send Kuroo’s way.  
  
“I’ll make sure they quiet down,” Akaashi said, touching your arm gently. “Go back to bed, (name)-san.”  
  
His touch brought you back to solid ground and you smiled. “Thank you. And sorry for interrupting guys’ night.”  
  
“They should be the ones apologising for waking you up,” he said, raising his voice enough to be heard over the quiet conversation that had started up again.  
  
An awkward muffle of ‘sorry’ and ‘good night’ filled the room. Bokuto gave you a happy wave, then put a finger on his lips and grinned. If there was anyone you guessed would be unable to stay quiet, it was him, but you would appreciate the attempt anyway.  
  
“Thanks, guys,” you said, smiling as you backed out the room. “And nice to meet you.”  


* * *

  
Akaashi shot Kuroo a dirty look while handing out cans of soda. In general the guys stayed far more quiet, though every now and then the volume swelled up if someone (usually Bokuto) got excited. Akaashi walked to the front of the room to grab a new bag of chips, and was not at all surprised when Kuroo appeared next to him.  
  
“You’re touchy today. I don’t think I’ve ever gotten a rise out of you before.”  
  
Closing his eyes, Akaashi sighed. “I know you won’t stop trying to provoke me no matter what I say, but please leave her out of this, Kuroo-san.”  
  
“Hmm, I kinda had the feeling I was taking it too far. I’ll have to apologise next time I see her.” He ran a hand through his unruly hair. “But she sure a sensitive one, isn’t she?”  
  
Akaashi gave him a hard stare.  
  
“Sorry, sorry,” Kuroo said, holding up his hands. “I’ll consider her to be under your protection.” He grinned and took the bag of chips from Akaashi.  
  
Akaashi sighed. “Thank you, Kuroo-san,” he said in a clipped voice. Trying to ignore his upcoming headache, he watched Kuroo go back to the others, holding up the bag of chips like a trophy for the other guys.  
  
Though he trusted Kuroo to not tease you again, Akaashi suspected that underneath that bedhair of his, Kuroo was churning over whole new ways to make life aggravating for him.


	9. Chapter 9

Your phone buzzed and you tried to reach for it, your movements sluggish. The screen blinked at you, and you squinted against the bright light. Everything hurt and your body felt weak. Even though you had slept well into the afternoon, you were still tired.  
  
Somehow, the text still managed to bring a smile to your face. Should’ve known; Bokuto yelling about a new video game that he wanted your help on.  
  
Typing went slower than ever while you wrote the reply, thanking him for thinking of you but explaining that you were feeling under the weather. You pressed send and dropped the phone next to your pillow, feeling too exhausted to even make the effort of putting it back on the nightstand.  
  
You had started drifting off again when you heard a knock on the door.  
  
“It’s open,” you tried to say, but a stream of coughs came out instead. Somehow the message still got across and Bokuto opened the door, sticking his head inside.  
  
Not trusting your voice right now, you waved at him instead.  
  
“Hey hey, how are you doing?” By Bokuto’s standards, he was whispering at you.  
  
You shrugged and started to sit upright.  
  
“No no no, relax, don’t push yourself,” he said, walking up to your bed and sitting on the edge. Bokuto put a hand to your forehead and hissed. “Damn, you really caught a nasty one, didn’t you.”  
  
He looked around him. You felt a little self-conscious; the room was an absolute mess right now, with clothes and various items lying around the floor everywhere.  
  
“Aya’s not here?”  
  
You shook your head. “Training.” Somehow you managed to get out the words, your voice raspy.  
  
“Are you okay with classes? Because you don’t look like you’ll be up tomorrow.”  
  
You started to tell how you asked a friend to keep you up to date with notes, but Bokuto got one hint of your hoarse voice and waved his hand.  
  
“No, sorry, forget I asked and spare your throat, okay? Nod if it’s taken care of?” So you did. Looking around the room again, Bokuto saw your thermos and an empty mug on the nightstand. He shook the thermos, and you could hear it was almost empty. “Want me to fill this up?”  
  
You did a feeble attempt to protest, but Bokuto put a finger to your lips.  
  
“None of that! Let me take care of you! There was tea in this, right? You want a refill right? Yes? Okay, just wait a moment!” He jumped off the bed and disappeared from the room before you even got the chance to tell him what kind of tea you liked.  
  
A shiver ran through you and you dove a little further under the covers. Somehow your body managed to be both overheated and cold at the same time. Your eyes grew heavy and you fought sleep while waiting for Bokuto to get back. Considering he probably had to run down to the dining hall to get it for you, he returned very fast. Aside from your thermos, he also carried an assortment of different tea bags.  
  
Sitting back down on your bed, he spread the tea bags in front of you so you could pick one. There was a wide array of choice, and you bit your lip at the thought of Bokuto going through all this trouble for you.  
  
Eventually you settled on a tea and insisted on putting it in the thermos to seep without his assistance. Bokuto flitted around you, obviously looking for more things to do to help you out.  
  
“Uhm, Bokuto,” you said, only to give yourself another coughing fit. You waited for it to die down, then stubbornly continued. “Thank you so much for the tea, but I think I’ll fall asleep again pretty soon.”  
  
He nodded and rubbed his chin, momentarily lost in thought. “Yes, you should sleep a lot!” Then Bokuto frowned and a pout appeared on his face. He obviously was thinking about something, and you waited patiently for him to spit it out. “Are you eating? What about dinner? Should I bring you something?”  
  
You winced at the memory of dragging yourself to the dining hall this morning. Breakfast had managed to stay inside your stomach, but digesting it had been so uncomfortable that you had lived on crackers ever since then. “I don’t know yet.”  
  
Bokuto nodded again, then seemed to come to a decision. “All right! You go sleep, I’ll check up on you later. And text me if there’s anything, okay?”  
  
Not having the energy to protest, you conceded and promised to do so. In an unexpected tender gesture, Bokuto brushed the lose strands of sweaty hair out of your face, then grinned at you and left.  
  
Any other day your brain probably would be well on its way to over-analysing what just happened, but now it just wanted to sleep. A warm feeling spread in your chest that was unrelated to your fever, but you quickly dozed off and had feverish dreams that you would not remember.  
  
A vague awareness of movement woke you up.  
  
Bokuto was just closing the door behind him when you became awake enough to register what happened around you. He carried a tray, obviously taken from the dining hall, and you sighed. People were not supposed to take those out with them and you doubted that he had asked permission to bring one up to your room.  
  
“Hey hey hey! I brought you a lot, so just try something out to see if it’s okay and save the rest!”  
  
He grinned at you and was so obviously proud of his caretaker-skills that you could not bring yourself to scold him for taking stuff up to your room that wasn’t allowed here.  
  
Slowly, you shuffled into an upright position and Bokuto put the tray on your lap. Then he refilled your mug with tea. If you had felt less sick, you would’ve found it adorable how he flitted around trying to be a perfect little nurse, but for now you were just looking up against the task of eating.  
  
True to his word, there was a diverse spread of various foods. Bokuto looked at you expectantly. You gave him a shaky smile and tried some of the lighter things.  
  
“Take your time, don’t force yourself,” he said, as though he read your mind, then leaned close and put a hand on your forehead.  You felt a little flustered, but when spending a lot of time with Bokuto, one got used to unannounced proximity pretty quick. “Hmm, doesn’t feel less feverish than this afternoon, I think?”  
  
Well, wasn’t that comforting to hear. You sighed.  
  
“Wait, let me get you a cool cloth.” He walked to the bathroom and with some trouble, you managed to communicate to him where you keep washcloths. Within moments he was back with a cold wet one, then sat next to you to put it on your forehead.  
  
He grinned at you. “No worries, I’m sure you’ll be better in no time.”  
  
After making sure the washcloth stayed in place (though you had to keep adjusting it and it fell down a couple of times while you had your meal), Bokuto stood up and explored the room while you ate little by little, babbling at you about some American movie he’d seen. Since he talked enough for two, this left you free to eat in peace. You did not even finish a third of what was on the tray, but Bokuto just set those aside for later, then took it the tray back.  
  
“I got to bring this back, I think,” he said, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. “I’ll leave you alone for tonight so you can get a lot of sleep, okay? But if anything comes up, just call me or Akaashi. We’ll take care of you until Aya gets back!”  
  
As best you could, you thanked him with your hoarse voice. He winked and left the room, quietly closing the door behind him.  
  
You stared at the door with a faint smile, then picked up your phone. Since you were up anyway, might as well check it. There were a couple of messages from a couple classmates, wishing you a speedy recovery. To your surprise, there also was one from Akaashi, telling you to take care and that you needed to tell him if he had to pick up Bokuto in case he’s too much.  
  
You chuckled, which transformed into a mild cough. For a while you dozed off, but managed to drag yourself out of bed to refresh yourself a bit and brush your teeth.  
  
Afterwards you slumped back into bed and slept straight through the night.


	10. Chapter 10

The next morning, you did feel slightly less terrible than the day before, but that spoke more of just how terrible you felt yesterday and you were in no condition to go to class yet. After sending an email to your professors, informing them of your current state, you managed to eat a little bit of the food you’d saved from yesterday. Then you went back to sleep, comforted by the knowledge that Aya would be back tonight.  
  
Once again you slept through most of the day, waking up every now and again to drink and eat a little. By late afternoon, your small stash of food (courtesy of Bokuto) had ran out and you dreaded the thought of getting up to visit the dinner hall. Your head still swam whenever you stood up, and though you hadn’t actually checked your temperature, you still felt feverish. You stared at your phone, feeling very aware of the option to text or call someone to bring you some food.  
  
Biting your lip, you picked up your phone, then let it drop on the bed. You hated bothering other people for help. Bokuto had already helped you out so much yesterday, you felt bad to ask him for more. It was easier to just do it all by yourself or, as it turned out, not do it at all. Ignoring the discomfort in your stomach, you went back to sleep instead.  
  
An undetermined amount of time later, a knock on the door woke you up. You blinked, disoriented. How late was it? You clutched your stomach, not sure whether you felt nauseous or hungry.  
  
The person outside did not wait for you to answer and opened the door a crack. Akaashi peered inside and you blanched when you saw him. This was the first time you two were alone together since you had said all those unnecessary things to him, and you still felt embarrassed over it. Still, you gave him a tired wave and he entered.  
  
He held a thermos in one hand and a binder under his arm. You reached for the nightstand and turned on a light, but Akaashi did you one better and walked over to the window to open the curtains. You winced against the bright sunlight but did not protest.  
  
He put the thermos on your nightstand, the binder on your desk, then finally spoke. “Those are Nana-san’s notes for you,” he said in a clipped voice, pointing at the binder, “and they had chicken soup at dinner today, so I brought you some.”  
  
There was something off about him, but you couldn’t lay your finger on it. Like he was annoyed. There was tension in his lips and his eyebrows held a small but intense frown.  
  
Slowly, you managed to wiggle yourself to an upright position. “Thank you.” Your voice was still raspy, but you suspected now that might also be because you had not spoken all day. You picked up the thermos and took off the lid. The scent coming from inside made your stomach rumble, and you blushed.  
  
Akaashi stared at you with an unnerving look. His brain was always thinking, never standing still, but sometimes his face betrayed just how hard he was working at trying to figure something out.  
  
His gaze, combined with the insistent feeling that something was bothering him, started to make you feel so uncomfortable that you looked for a distraction. Your eyes fell on the notes and you gestured at them. “Did Nana give those to you?”  
  
He cleared his throat, and you’d swear that he almost looked a little embarrassed. “I told her I’d bring them to you, I wanted to check up on you anyway.”  
  
For a moment you thought you had successfully averted his attention, then his frown deepened. He said your name in a flat voice, making you jump mid-sip.  
  
“Did you even leave the room today? I know you’re not feeling well, but that’s why you need to take good care of yourself, too. What did you eat today?” He looked around the room, as though looking for physical evidence of your meals.  
  
You pouted and stalled by drinking some more of the soup before answering. “I still had some food from Bokuto,” you said in a low mutter, not looking at Akaashi. The soup warmed you up from the inside, and a content sigh escaped you.  
  
Akaashi’s sigh was something else entirely. “You could’ve called either of us, you know. Bokuto would not stop talking about what a good caretaker he’d been for you, he would have been thrilled.”  
  
He walked up to you and leaned down to put a hand on your forehead.  
  
“Your fever seems to have broken, that’s good.”  
  
You just had to trust his word on it, because you definitely felt like you were burning up.  
  
“And if not us,” he continued, as though he hadn't interrupted his previous train of thought, “there must’ve been someone else? Nana-san perhaps? Why didn’t you ask her?”  
  
His pressuring words brought a sense of discomfort over you that had nothing to do with your physical health. Breathing became just a little harder, and your heartbeat sped up.  
  
You could feel Akaashi looking at you again, and focused even harder on the soup. It really was delicious, though maybe that was just because it was the first decent meal you had in two days. A little tricky to eat without a spoon but that didn’t stop you.  
  
“Can I sit down?” he asked, gesturing towards your bed. You nodded, and he seated himself on the edge.  
  
He studied you while you were eating, leaving the silence be for a moment. It was not exactly comfortable, but this did give you the chance to calm yourself down. You did not empty the thermos in one go, instead putting the lid on and setting it back on the nightstand for later. Akaashi had stopped looking at you by then.  
  
“Is it really so impossible for you to ask me for help?”  
  
The silence between you was stifling, and all your previous anxiety threatened to come back screaming.  
  
“I have to admit, I don’t really understand what goes on in your head,” he said, frowning as though trying to figure out the answer to a complex puzzle. “But” - his eyes locked onto yours again - “is there anything I can do to make it easier for you?”  
  
Those were not the words you expected. You blinked and your mouth was agape for just a second, until you quickly shut it again. Then you shook your head and looked down, your lips unable to decide whether to smile or grimace.  
  
“I’m sorry for being difficult,” you said, struggling to raise your voice above a mutter. “To be honest, I’m not sure if there’s anything specific that you can do. It’ll get easier in time, it usually does. Just... please be patient with me in the meanwhile.”  
  
After a short silence, you looked up and saw Akaashi rubbing the back of his head. He seemed a little flustered. “I wasn’t exactly patient with you just now.”  
  
You grimaced but held your tongue.  
  
“I apologise for scolding you. I’ll keep it in mind from now on.” Akaashi cleared his throat and kept looking the other way, missing the smile that broke out on your face.  
  
Silence fell again, but it was the most comfortable one so far. For once you were the one staring at Akaashi, while he still carefully avoided eye-contact. You soon became restless, though, and decided to try getting out of bed.  
  
“Akaashi-san, could you move aside?”  
  
He quickly made way for you, and you slowly slid from under the covers. Your simple shirt and comfy yoga pants were not the most flattering combo, but considering the circumstances that really did not bother you too much. You felt a little shaky getting up, but Akaashi offered you a hand and soon you were standing upright, even if your breathing was a little heavier.  
  
“How are you doing?”  
  
Instead of giving a verbal answer, you just nodded and let go of his hand. His skin felt cool, though that might have just seemed that way because of your own high body temperature. “I just want to take a shower, I’ll probably feel better afterwards.”  
  
He watched you take shaky steps towards your desk, where you took a quick look through Nana’s notes. Impeccable, as always. You truly were blessed with such a studious and organised friend.  
  
“Will you be all right? I can check up on you later, if you want to.”  
  
Your first instinct was to brush him aside, to reassure him that was absolutely not necessary. However, as you stood back upright, a faint dizzy feeling in your head told you otherwise. You put a hand on the wall to steady yourself, then nodded at Akaashi. “That might be a good idea,” you admitted. “Give me an hour? If I’m not done by then, something’s wrong.”  
  
Exactly one hour later, there came a knock on the door.  
  
You sat on your desk-chair, sipping on the remainder of the soup and hair tightly wrapped in a towel. You’d been done for a while, but felt too insecure to text Akaashi not to come over, after that whole conversation about accepting help and all that. Also, there was something on your mind that you were gathering the courage for to bring up.  
  
You expected Akaashi to enter without waiting for an answer like he did earlier today. When you realised he wasn’t going to this time, you called out for him to come in.  
  
You smiled at him when he came inside and took a seat at Aya’s desk. The shower really had done you some good. “I’m almost done with the soup, if you wait a moment you can take the thermos back.”  
  
“Take your time. I don’t need it right now.”  
  
You shook your head. “If I don’t return it now, I might forget. You can see what our room looks like, right? We’re bound to lose it in this mess.” You took another sip, letting your thoughts mull on the subject that had occurred to you in the shower. Despite working your way up to it, you now felt hesitant to bring up.  
  
To assuage your worries, you looked at Akaashi. He was one of the most patient people you had ever met in your life (which was probably a good thing for him, considering he lived in the same room as Bokuto Koutarou). And he always did his best to understand and accommodate you.  
  
So you took a deep breath and just asked him. It was not that big a deal, anyway. Or so you told yourself.  
  
“Uhm, Akaashi-san?”  
  
He seemed to have been lost in thought, but perked up at your voice.  
  
Feeling a little silly for even bringing it up, you scratched your cheek. “Uhm, I kind of had the feeling you already knew I’d been taking bad care of myself before you even entered the room. You seemed really annoyed with me from the start. Or did I misread something?”  
  
Sighing, Akaashi leaned forward in the chair. “I guess I was? I didn’t know for sure before I walked in, it was just an educated guess.”  
  
You gave him a look when he fell silent, waiting for him to continue. The corner of his lips twitched, but you could not place what emotion that signified.  
  
“I asked Nana-san if she heard from you, but she hadn’t. Since you feel comfortable enough to ask her to take notes, I assumed she was your lowest threshold when it comes to reaching out for help. Bokuto was also an option, but he didn’t mention anything, and Bokuto would not pass up on an opportunity to brag about being relied on. Obviously you hadn’t contacted me, and Aya won’t be back until later this evening. But it was entirely possible that you asked someone I did not anticipate.”  
  
You gaped at him while he rattled his thought-process in a rapid pace. Not just the amount of thought put into your behaviour caught you off guard, but also that he was concerned enough for your well-being to check with Nana.  
  
Nodding slowly, you rubbed your chin. Then you gave him a small smile. “You’re always thinking about these kind of things, aren’t you?”  
  
Akaashi blinked, then ran a hand through his hair and looked away. To your surprise, he seemed either a bit embarrassed or flustered.  
  
Grimacing, you leaned forward in the chair and waved a hand in a placating gesture. “Hey, I’m sorry to bring it up,” you said, worried to have somehow stepped on a mine-field of a topic.  
  
He shook his head and composed himself again. “It’s fine, I was just surprised. Sometimes it bothers people ...I thought it’d bother you.”  
  
Despite yourself, you chuckled. He tilted his head to the side and frowned at your reaction.  
  
“Don’t tell me the tables have turned, and I have to reassure you now,” you teased, smiling at Akaashi. “I don’t think you’ll ever bother me.”  
  
Only when you heard the words coming out of your mouth, did you fully realise you said them. Dammit, being sick really shut half your brain down. You coughed and blushed, looking down at the thermos in your hands. Just to distract yourself, you gulped down the last of the soup.  
  
Akaashi smiled and just for a moment, his thinking slowed down and he just looked at you sitting in the chair, flushed red and twiddling with your thumbs.  
  
The moment did not last long, broken when the door burst open and Aya stood in the doorway, looking exhausted but satisfied.  
  
She shouted your name. “I’m back! You can stop missing me now!” Then her eyes fell on Akaashi. “Oh crap, sorry,” Aya said in a much softer voice. Then her gaze turned to you, and her eyes narrowed. “Are you okay? No offence, but you don’t look too great.”  
  
You gave her a wan smile. “I got sick. It’s already a bit better today, though.”  
  
Aya stormed forward, feeling your temperature and getting a good close-up look at you. You sighed at the realisation that she had activated activated her overbearing mom-mode.  
  
“Aya, go take care of yourself, okay? You must be exhausted from training. Go unpack, freshen up, sleep, and tomorrow you can tell me all about what you’ve been up to, and _then_ I’ll tell you how I’m doing.”  
  
She squinted at you, as though she tried to determine whether your life was in any direct danger, then sighed. “All right, fine.”  
  
Leaving you alone, Aya got her bag and started shifting through her stuff. The vague scent of sweaty clothes that needed a desperate wash entered your nose. Ignoring it, you stood up.  
  
Ahh, too quickly.  
  
For a moment you had forgotten you were still sick and shaky, and now needed a second to find your bearings and get rid of the black spots in your vision. Within a flash Akaashi was next to you, hand near your arm yet not touching you. Ready just in case.  
  
You breathed deeply and smiled. “Thanks,” you said, and held up Akaashi’s thermos. “Want me to rinse it first?”  
  
He shook his head and took it from you, your fingers brushing against each other. However, it seemed like you had reached some sort of ‘maximum fluster limit’ for the day, and your heart skipped only one beat, instead racing wildly like it probably would have done any other time.  
  
“No, it’s fine,” Akaashi said, withdrawing towards the door. “Get some more sleep, I’ll see you soon.”  
  
As soon as he closed the door, Aya turned to you with an inquisitive gaze.  
  
“So... what was that about?”  
  
You sighed and grabbed your toothbrush. “I’ll tell you about it tomorrow.”  
  
“Because it kinda seemed like you two-”  
  
“Tomorrow,” you repeated, pointing a warning finger in the air.  
  
Aya whined but continued unpacking her things, gathering her dirty clothes in a small hamper. “Urgh, fine.”  
  
You weren’t exactly sure what there was to tell anyway, but at least this gave you some time to process everything that had happened. After you brushed your teeth, you instantly returned to bed and fell asleep before Aya even turned the lights off.


	11. Chapter 11

“So, what’s going on between you two?”  
  
Aya had brought breakfast up to the room for the two of you (asking permission from the staff unlike Bokuto, who had just snatched a meal and was lucky he hadn't been caught). You took small bites from some fruit, pretending not to notice Aya’s inquisitive look.  
  
You shrugged and stayed quiet, partly because your throat still hurt, partly because you weren’t quite sure what to say.  
  
Apparently just that was enough of an answer for Aya.  
  
“I’m just surprised, I thought you liked Bokuto. There are some rumours going around about you two.” She nibbled on her toast, acting like she hadn’t just informed you that romantic gossip involving you circulated around the campus.  
  
You almost choked on a mouthful of food and broke out into a cough, which irritated your throat so much that you turned into a wheezing, spluttering mess.  
  
“Aw crap!”  
  
Aya hurried over to you and patted you on the back.  
  
“Man, I’m sorry,” she said, rubbing slow circles when your coughing started to die down. “I was pretty sure you guys hadn’t hooked up or anything, I mean, I probably would have noticed that, but I thought there might have been some pining going on?” Aya grinned and withdrew her hand. “Since you do spend an awful lot of time across the hall lately. But I guess I had pegged the wrong boy.”  
  
She went back over to her side of the room to finish breakfast, leaving you feeling flushered - which had little to do with being sick.  
  
Her mention of Bokuto had caught you completely off guard, not in the least because in truth you had no idea how you felt about him. He had turned one of the most reassuring presences in your life in a long time, but was there anything beyond that? You had trouble enough trying to figure out what to do about Akaashi, you really could not use vague feelings over a different boy on top of that.  
  
“So, any idea what you’re going to do about it?”  
  
To be honest, you had no idea. First you took another bite of your food to postpone having to answer her. You swallowed, then sighed at Aya’s expectant look. She was a lot better at this kind of thing than you were; she’d been the one to confess to Yuki, and most of her previous partners.  
  
For you, you were unable to approach this sort of thing casually. Even now, you could feel your stomach recoiling in response to your anxiety, to the fear of rejection, of breaking something and losing it. And even if you confessed to Akaashi, and he accepted your feelings, there was a large risk you’d somehow mess up in the future. And that did not even include Bokuto in the equation.  
  
Aya observed your reaction, knowing you and your habits quite well by now. She sighed, but it was not an unsympathetic one.  
  
“Sorry, I’m nagging you, aren’t I?”  
  
You shook your head, but she continued.  
  
“Just go for it at your own pace, right? And if there’s anything, you can always talk to me.” Aya grinned. “And _definitely_ give me the juicy details, should any come up.”  
  
“I promise,” you said, chuckling.  
  
However, despite those words you were not quite ready to reveal more about your confused feelings to her just yet.  
  
Aya left for morning classes soon after that, told you she’d be back for lunch, and left you to yourself to rest. You slept a little, started work on the backlog of schoolwork and send an email to one of your professors, requesting a deadline to be moved due to unforeseen circumstances. Hopefully she’d have mercy on your soul.  
  
Your progress was slow, but at least it existed. Lunch with Aya was a welcome and relaxing break, and at her insistence you took another long nap afterwards. You were just taking a shower when Aya came back. You could hear from the chatter that Yuki was with her.  
  
Yuki waved at you from her usual spot at the end of Aya’s bed when you came out of the bathroom, towel wrapped around your head and wearing clean clothes. It was so nice to get out of those pyjamas; somehow they even smelled of being sick now. “Hey, how are you doing?” Yuki asked.  
  
You smiled at them and threw your dirty clothes in the hamper.  
  
“Not quite there yet, but a lot better.” Your voice only sounded kinda gruff. “I think I’m up for eating downstairs.” Sighing, you rubbed your temples. “I’m so fed up with being stuck in this room.”  
  
Aya grinned and gave you a thumbs up. “Sounds like a good sign! I just need to put this stuff away and I’m ready to go.”  
  
Before she could finish though, someone knocked on the door. Aya called for them to come in, and you had to admit, you were only moderately surprised to see Akaashi with a binder in his hand. Aya tried to keep the shit-eating grin off her face, but you scowled at her obvious failure.  
  
Akaashi either did not see, or ignored her, and handed you the binder instead. He looked you over for a moment. “You look like you’re feeling better.”  
  
“Yep! I’m even going to leave the room for a fancy dinner downstairs!”  
  
“Good. I’m glad to hear that.”  
  
You could feel Aya shuffling around behind you, trying to keep an inconspicuous eye on you in the most conspicuous way possible. Your eye twitched, but Akaashi kept a perfect poker face, ignoring your roommate’s antics.  
  
“I hope to get back to classes tomorrow,” you said, eager to round up this conversation and end it because _this was so damned awkward_ , “hopefully I’ll see you then.”  
  
Akaashi gave you small smile and wished you a good meal, then went to his own room.  
  
You closed the door and walked towards the desk to put away the binder, then glared at Aya. “Seriously?”  
  
Yuki shook her head. “Sweetie, I adore you, but that was the least subtle thing I’ve ever seen.”  
  
Aya laughed sheepishly and waved a placating hand at you. “Not exactly what I’m known for, right? Sorry, buddy, I’ll try to contain myself next time.”  
  
You grumbled at her, but Aya laid a fire-heavy charm offence on you throughout the meal and the rest of the evening, making it impossible for you to stay mad at her.  
  
That night, you managed to get some decent sleep, and though you did not feel a hundred percent in the morning, you seemed well enough to try a day of following classes. You put on a surgical mask and took a deep breath, mentally preparing yourself for the day.  
  
In the lecture hall, you kept an eye out for Nana. Of course, you had also messaged her to say she did not need to take notes for you today, but she had not responded and you wanted to make sure she saw you and didn’t do any unnecessary work.  
  
About five minutes after you took a seat, she walked into the hall and waved when she spotted you. She sat down next to you and grinned.  
  
“Hey, how are you doing?”  
  
You shrugged. “Well enough to try this,” you said, your voice slightly muffled through the mask. “Thanks for the help with classes.” You intended to get her a small gift once you felt fully healthy again, maybe her favourite snack or something.  
  
Nana waved away your thanks. “It was no problem! Especially with Akaashi-san’s help, I didn’t even get the chance to visit you!” She laughed. “He was quite insistent on how much more practical it was for him to take them. Who knew that he was such a sweetheart under that pokerface?”  
  
You did, but you kept that thought to yourself.  
  
As though summoned by your conversation, Akaashi sat down in front of you and turned around for a morning greeting. You and Nana made some small talk with him, though it did not escape your attention that Nana kept that grin on her face.  
  
There definitely was something suspicious about that expression.  
  
When the professor walked in, Akaashi directed his attention forward and you narrowed your eyes at Nana. Her grin got even wider.  
  
Ah, dammit, she knew, didn’t she?  
  
Just your luck; somehow both Aya and Nana had managed to detect your crush on Akaashi within days. You sighed and for once felt very grateful that the class was starting, so Nana could not interrogate you, or whatever she was up to (especially with Akaashi right in front of you).  


* * *

  
Nana shook her head and fought to keep her laughter internal. What a dork. With increasing amusement, she had spend the last two days talking to Akaashi more than usual, indulging in his curiosity whenever the subject turned to you.  
  
Other people might not have found anything suspicious about a neighbour offering to bring homework, or checking twice in one day whether they heard something from a sick person, but Nana had observed enough of Akaashi to spot the irregularities. It was not like he was an unkind person, just someone who spend minimal energy on others if he didn’t think it served a purpose.  
  
Yes, Nana had been quite sure already, but what sealed the deal was the way his eyes lit up today when he turned around just to tell you “good morning” and asked you how you were doing, and how a small smile broke through his usual stoic expression, the kind of smile he usually reserved for volleyball related topics.  
  
Well, Nana was not the sort to meddle. She chuckled to herself and glanced at you, fully focused on the lecture. Just seeing how this would unfold was enough potential amusement for the foreseeable future.


	12. Chapter 12

Oh crap, these notes did not make any sense to you at all.  
  
You stared at your own handwriting, wondering what all this was supposed to mean. When you tried to remember the class in question, you could vaguely recall hearing the professor talk about this subject, and thinking your notes would be sufficient to figure out later. It was from one of your first lectures after your sickness, and obviously you had been cutting corners.  
  
Dammit. Curse your past-self.  
  
Even pulling out the relevant books did not help. You groaned and rested your forehead on your desk.  
  
Okay, it was time for a back-up plan. With a heavy sigh, you got up from your chair and walked across the hall. To your relief, Akaashi shared this particular class with you, and he was such a diligent student that you felt fairly confident that he would be able to help you out.  
  
For a moment you worried he might be gone for his club activities, then you remembered they only had morning practise on Thursdays. You knocked on the door, notepad under your arm, and still let out a sigh of relief when Bokuto called from inside that it was open.  
  
“Hey!”  
  
You smiled as you opened the door, but that quickly faded when you realised the second guy in the room was not Akaashi, but that tall guy with the messy hair. The one who had come just a little too close to you last time you met. Your mind went into a slight panic and completely blanked on his name.  
  
For a moment you seriously considered turning on your heels and disappearing before the guys even looked up from the old-school fighting game they were playing. Instead, you took a deep breath and tried to relax. You focused on the game; you and Bokuto had fooled around with it a while back. Bokuto had been quite terrible at it, and by the looks of things there was very little improvement.  
  
The other guy finished kicking Bokuto’s ass and they finally turned to look you. His eyes widened when he saw you.  
  
“What’s up, (Name)?” Bokuto said, instantly standing up. He waved with the hand that held the controller, the usual big grin stuck to his face. Apparently today he did not mind losing. The other guy also stood up, a little slower.  
  
You shuffled your feet, pointedly not looking at anyone. It was really tempting to hide your face behind your notepad, but you held yourself back. “Akaashi isn’t here?”  
  
Bokuto shook his head. “He’s out at Komi and Konoha’s.” Those names meant very little to you, but the point was clear; no Akaashi. “What did you need him for?”  
  
“I messed up some notes in class, wanted to see if I could borrow Akaashi’s.” You sighed deeply. “Any idea when he’ll come back?”  
  
The other guy grinned, that same feline grin that unnerved you last time. “After I go back home, perhaps. I think I might have scared him away.” He put down the controller and sauntered over to you, but stopped in his place when he saw you freeze up. Rubbing the back of his head with a sheepish expression, he actually looked a little embarrassed. “Hey, I wanted to apologise to you.”  
  
Wait what? Caught off guard, you blinked owlishly at him.  
  
He sighed. “Sorry I made you feel uncomfortable last time. I wanted to see if I could get a rise out of Akaashi and overstepped my bounds.”  
  
You let out a breath you hadn’t realise you held and relaxed. Running a hand through your hair, you nodded slowly. “Thank you.” However, you were not quite ready to let down your guard entirely.  
  
Bokuto looked from one to the other, visibly confused at the exchange. “Wait, Kuroo, you were bothering (Name)?” Oh, right, that was his name. Bokuto’s eye twitched and he walked towards Kuroo, a mildly threatening air about him. “Hey hey, what made you think that was a good idea?”  
  
A smirk appeared on Kuroo’s face, and you suspected that drawing this kind of reaction out of Bokuto was exactly why Kuroo thought it had been a good idea. “Well, well, good thing Akaashi was there then, if you never even noticed what was going on,” he drawled, putting a hand on his hip.  
  
Bokuto almost exploded from indignation. “You’re still just a sneaky cat! It’s not my fault if you’re bothering people behind my back!”  
  
You weren’t sure whether you wanted to smile or sigh at their antics. In the end, you decided to ignore them while you got out your phone to send a message to Akaashi. There were various papers and notebooks openly lying on his desk, perhaps he would not mind you going through them. You detailed which class you needed the notes for, then put your phone away. “Mind if I wait here for a while?”  
  
Waving a hand at you, Bokuto was already returning to the game, setting up the next round. “No problem. Lucky for you, now you get to admire me kicking Kuroo’s ass!”  
  
Kuroo almost choked on a snort of laughter. “Oya? So this will finally be the round where you beat me? How many has it taken you, four?”  
  
Bokuto’s eye twitched and his grin gained a competitive edge. “Don’t mind that, I won’t let you embarrass me in front of my precious neighbour!”  
  
Your face flushed red. This was the second time he referred to you as ‘precious’, and it was becoming very hard to not overthink the meaning of his words. Your reaction did not go unnoticed by Kuroo, and you groaned. Of course he had to see that. You sighed, shaking off your fluster. “Bokuto, you beat me once at this game. _Once_. I think it’s too late to worry about being embarrassed.”  
  
Kuroo’s face lit up with new-found respect, an appreciative smirk on his lips. His gaze lingered on you for a second, then he sat back down in preparation to curb-stomp Bokuto at the game.  
  
While you waited for Akaashi’s response, you sat down on the ground between the two, occasionally giving Bokuto some advice. Kuroo protested so loudly at this new despicable low of unfair cheatery that Bokuto got worked up over it to the point that he did the exact opposite of what you told him to, causing him to lose even faster.  
  
The round was almost over when your phone buzzed, and you breathed in relief at seeing Akaashi’s name. His detailed directions to find the notes you needed within his paperwork made you smile. You stood up and walked over to his desk, edging behind Kuroo, who quickly inched to the side to let you pass. As expected, Akaashi had a well-organised system encompassing all his schoolwork and you quickly found what you were looking for.  
  
“Ah, is it alright if I stay here a bit longer to copy these?” you asked the boys.  
  
“No problem, take your time,” Bokuto said, not even looking your way. To be fair, his last attempt at turning this match around was valiant - but ultimately futile.  
  
Kuroo almost purred when he reeled in the win. “That’s what, the fifth time? How _embarrassing_ in front of your underclassman.”  
  
You could tell that Bokuto tried to ignore him, but even from your spot at the desk you sensed his teeth-grinding. He quickly set up a new game, changed his character (because “obviously that had been the problem here”) and entered round six, optimistic as only Bokuto could be.  
  
For the most part you tried to focus on copying the notes quickly, so you could go back to work. However, it was impossible to ignore the boys entirely.  
  
“Hey, Kuroo, do you think animals have GPS?”  
  
“Aahhh?”  
  
“You know, like birds flying around across the world! Or those pets that travel miles to return to old homes!”  
  
“If you are trying to distract me so you’ll win, it’s not gonna work.”  
  
You chuckled and rested your chin on your hand, glancing sideways at Bokuto. “I once heard that birds use the magnetic field of the earth to find their way around.”  
  
“You’re kidding me!” Bokuto’s look of wonderment made you smile, which quickly transformed into a grimace when he got so distracted he took a combo-attack from Kuroo head-on. “How would that even work!”  
  
To be honest, your own knowledge on the subject was spotty at best, but you tried to indulge him. “Something about birds being able to see it, so they always know which way is north?”  
  
Bokuto shook his head, trying to focus on winning the game. “Birds are hardcore,” he muttered to himself, almost too soft for you to hear. Then he perked up again and smiled at you, forgetting about the game for a second. “You know, owls use the stars to navigate at night!”  
  
“Huh. That’s really cool.” You couldn’t help the big smile on your face when he beamed at you in enthusiasm.  
  
“Bokuto, if you were ready to give up you just had to say so,” Kuroo said, getting in another combo and finishing the fight in less than half the time it had taken before.  
  
Bokuto yelped loudly and returned his attention to the game. “This one doesn’t count! I got distracted!”  
  
Your face twitched at those words. “Oi, you’re not blaming me for his, are you? You are the one who started talking about birds.” You shook your head and brought your focus back on the work. Akaashi’s neat handwriting made the copying very easy, and you were in awe of his concise note-taking skills.  
  
Beside you, the guys started up another game, and for once it sounded like Bokuto was actually gaining the upper hand. Well, he was bound to win sometime. You couldn’t help but glance at the TV screen again and smile. It was not as though Bokuto had terrible coordination or was simply that bad at video games; it just was that when faced between the choice of ‘effective’ or ‘awesome-looking’, he was irresistibly lured towards the latter. Lucky for him, he had finally managed to stumble upon the fighter character that combined these two qualities in her most powerful moves.  
  
However, Kuroo had no intention of giving up and it was a hard-won battle. By the time they finished, you were actually done with copying and turned around just in time to see the WINNER text float over Bokuto’s character.  
  
You grinned and gave Bokuto a thumb’s up, but you doubted he even saw it, so busy was he gloating over Kuroo. Shaking your head, you quickly send a thank-you message to Akaashi instead, before you forgot. “Hey, thanks for tolerating me,” you told the guys, then started to leave the room.  
  
“No worries, it was nice to have you here!” “Yeah, maybe I’ll see you again sometime.”  
  
Kuroo winked at you, and Bokuto gave him a light, warning punch. “Like she’d be interested in you after that humiliation you just went through.”  
  
“Well, she still hangs out with you, and we all know you embarrass yourself on a daily basis.”  
  
You sighed. “Play nice, guys, okay? Bokuto, would you thank Akaashi again for me when he gets back?”  
  
“I will!”  
  
The door hadn’t even closed behind you when your phone buzzed. You opened Akaashi’s message and smiled.  
  
_It’s no problem. You’re welcome any time._  
  
With a big grin on your face and a fluttering sensation in your chest, you went back to finish your homework.  


* * *

  
Kuroo glanced back at the door you had just left through, then looked at his friend. For a while now, Bokuto had started dropping your name in casual conversations. Everyone had seen his reaction when you came to their practise game. Honestly, it was all far too obvious to see. Now, upon meeting you a second time, the other side of the equation had also been quite easy to read.  
  
“So, why haven’t you asked her out yet?” he asked, just as Bokuto restarted the game for the so many-est time (Kuroo had lost count by now).  
  
Almost dropping his console, Bokuto’s eyes widened and he froze up. It only took him a moment to recover, though a bit of visible fluster remained. “Don’t say something like that, Kuroo, she’s obviously into Akaashi.”  
  
Were you?  
  
Kuroo frowned and let his thoughts mull it over while he tried to focus on the game as well. It seemed Bokuto was getting handier at using this particular character, and pretty soon it became obvious that Kuroo would be losing twice in a row.  
  
To be fair, Kuroo had only barely met you twice before today, so maybe he didn’t have enough information to make that call. Akaashi had definitely been very protective of you, but you had seemed a little oblivious towards him, not really showing the kind of fluster you displayed around Bokuto - but perhaps Bokuto was right and that did not mean you weren’t interested in Akaashi.  
  
Kuroo shot another glance at Bokuto, who was now deeply invested in the game and already seemed to have forgotten Kuroo’s previous question. He frowned and hoped he hadn’t accidentally stirred a pot that was best left alone.


	13. Chapter 13

“Fifteen minutes? Are you sure, Aya? Isn’t it usually less than that?”  
  
“Yup, says so here right on the package.”  
  
You rubbed a sweet-scented sticky substance evenly over your facial skin, carefully checking in the mirror whether you missed spots or got too close to your eyes. First Saturday of the month, and that meant pampering time for you and Aya.  
  
“Well, fifteen minutes it is, then.”  
  
Stepping away from the mirror, you tried not to touch your face while Aya took her turn with applying the mask. You set a timer on your phone, and almost dropped it when you got a message at the same time.  
  
“Oh, it’s Bokuto, asking if I got time for a game.” You sighed and shook your head. Sometimes you wondered whether he had issues with being alone, but it would be a lie to say you were upset about being asked to hang out so often.  
  
“Invite him over here. With an extra player we can do a round of Dai Fugo,” Aya said, carefully applying the cream on her skin, taking much more care to not get it in her hairline than you had. Though you had pulled back your hair for the occasion, there still was some of the stuff stuck in it. Ah well, you’d wash that out later.  
  
You send a message back to Bokuto, and within seconds he had burst through your door, ready for some games. He stopped and blinked when he saw you and Aya, in full facial mask glory.  
  
“What’s wrong, Bokuto?” you said, innocently making eyes at him. “Don’t we look lovely?”  
  
To his credit, Bokuto recovered quickly and laughed. “Never more so than today!”  
  
Aya finished applying the mask and gingerly touched her cheek, washing her hands and setting her own alarm before joining you and Bokuto for the card game. “It’s a peel, right? It’s supposed to come right off?”  
  
You shrugged. “You were the one who actually read the instructions, Aya.”  
  
“Right, right.”  
  
Quickly you were reminded how excruciatingly bad you were at this game, unable to get rid of your bad cards fast enough. Considering how often you beat him at competitive games, Bokuto was more than happy enough to rub this in your face (even though Aya kicked both your asses).  
  
Aya was just telling Bokuto the story of how she had saved her girlfriend from a bat in her room, when your phone’s timer beeped.  
  
“Ah, excuse me,” you said, quickly putting down your cards and taking this opportunity to leave the game. Because dammit, this was just not your evening. You studied yourself in the mirror, poking at the spots that did not seem to have dried up completely yet. Aya yelled at you, accusing you of being a coward for abandoning the game, but you stuck out your tongue at her.  
  
Carefully, you started to remove the peel, sighing happily at the satisfied feeling of the mask coming off cleanly - for the most part. Just as you plucked at the little bits that had stuck on your face, someone knocked on the door. “Go ahead!” you called out to whoever it was, and smiled when you saw Akaashi.  
  
He waved a phone in his hands. “Hey. Bokuto-san left this in our room.”  
  
Bokuto perked up at the mention of his name and broke out in a smile when he saw Akaashi. “Ah thanks, Akaashi! I hadn’t realised!” He jumped up from his chair and bounced back after taking his phone. He fell back in the chair, waiting for you to be done, then groaned in impatience when Aya’s alarm went off, too. She grinned and joined you in front of the mirror to take off her own mask.  
  
Akaashi watched you both in amusement. When you were done, you walked over to him and grinned. “You missed us at our prettiest, I’m afraid. Just ask Bokuto.”  
  
Blinking, Akaashi looked at your face, mouth opening to say something, hand rising upward, then hesitating.  
  
“Hm?” You tilted your head to the side. “Oh darn, is there still stuff on there?” You felt with your fingers for the remaining peel, but failed to locate it.  
  
He smiled and plucked the last bit of peel from the tip of your nose, fingers brushing against your skin.  
  
You coughed and hoped the burning of your cheeks was not visible, or hopefully disguised as a healthy after-glow from your facemask.  
  
In the meanwhile, Aya managed to remove her peel at an unbelievable speed, probably because of her better care with applying it in the first place. She grinned at you and slapped you on the shoulder, breaking you out of your moment of embarrassment. “There, we’ve done our faithful duty again to keep our skin soft and shiny.”  
  
You smiled at her, then turned back to Akaashi. “Do you want to stick around? We can deal you in!”  
  
When Akaashi shook his head, you felt a small pang of disappointment. “I have a long day tomorrow,” - he stared pointedly at Bokuto - “and so does he. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten about the extra morning practise, Bokuto-san.”  
  
Bokuto groaned and leaned back in his chair. “Of course I haven’t!” He sulked for a second, then stood up and gave a dramatic bow to you and Aya. “I’m afraid my conscience has arrived, ladies,” he said, either ignoring or unaware of the twitch in Akaashi’s eyes, “so it is time for me to go. I hope the rest of your evening is good, even if it is without my great company.”  
  
You laughed at his antics, never quite sure how much of this kind of thing was his sense of humour, and how much was the size of his ego. But he pulled it off with a flourish, and you only complained a little when he ruffled your hair on the way out.  
  
The room fell quiet when the guys closed the door behind them, and Aya shook her head.  
  
“The guy’s great, but I wouldn’t have the energy to keep up with him like you do,” she said, then washed her face to remove any remainders of the peel. You did the same after she was done, having quite a bit more to get rid off.  
  
When you were done you shrugged. “I don’t know, I guess I just don’t feel like he’s costing me any energy? He’s so infectious, most of the time I actually feel recharged afterwards.”  
  
Aya paused for a second, untying her hair as she thought over your words. “Yeah, I can see what you mean, I guess,” she said, shaking her head to send hair cascading down her shoulders. “So, you want to play something else?”  
  
“Hmm, are you up for uno?”  
  
“Pfff, you’re only suggesting that because you’re actually good at that.” Aya gave you a sly grin, not keen to let you forget about how she had been dominating the game earlier.  
  
You grinned. “Caught me red-handed. So, you want to do something else, or are you not afraid of a challenge today?”  
  
Various emotions flitted over Aya’s face. You could tell she did not want to give in to your provocation, but the temptation of potentially making you eat your words was too much.  
  
“You’re on, kid.”


	14. Chapter 14

Midterms were approaching rapidly.  
  
As though to taunt the students, summer break loomed just beyond that, but this hurdle needed to be crossed at first.  
  
These days, the library was so crowded that you only went there when strictly necessary. Aya and Yuki were busy with studying as well, so they rarely asked to have the room to themselves. And even if they did, you had still a sanctuary awaiting you across the hall.  
  
Even Bokuto tried to focus more on his studies, which resulted in Akaashi also having less need to hide out at the library. If you hung out with them, the three of you usually settled in a good work atmosphere, with regular breaks where Bokuto often helped you to de-stress.  
  
This was one of those occasions.  
  
Akaashi had his books and notes spread out over his bed, sitting at the head with his laptop on his crossed legs. Since he usually worked better there anyway, he assured you that you were free to borrow his desk.  
  
Leaning over your notes, you quietly nodded along to the music that played on your headphones; with a playlist specifically created for study moments.  
  
Still, even over the music you noticed the increasing volume of Bokuto’s frustrated grunts. He’d probably take a break soon, a thought that gave you hope. The upcoming tests left you too stressed to allow yourself regular breaks, and this made you appreciate the distraction shaped as Bokuto Koutarou all the more.  
  
He let out a loud groan and his head fell back against his chair. “This is impossible!”  
  
You turned around and smiled at his upside-down face. “Want to take a break?”  
  
Bokuto grimaced, and Akaashi spoke up from his cosy corner on the bed. “It’s getting late, are you sure you’ll get back to it if you stop now?”  
  
“I know that, Akaashi!” Bokuto said, turning his chair around and digging his fingers in his hair. “But this just isn’t working either!” He let out a low continuous whine and swivelled around in his chair.  
  
You observed him in his near-desperation, then exchanged a glance with Akaashi. “How much more do you have planned for tonight?”  
  
By some kind of miracle you had managed to stay on schedule, despite all the pressure and workload. Knowing Akaashi’s work ethic (and how he seemed relatively relaxed under all this), it probably was the same for him. This meant you could afford to spend some time on helping a friend.  
  
“I’m done revising for today, it’s just this stupid last-minute paper that Mizushima-sensei decided to drop on us,” he said, grumbling. “I’m almost done, I just need to figure out what conclusions I’m supposed to draw from all this.”  
  
Inhaling deeply, you stood up and put your hands on your hips. “Okay. Here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to get some ice cream from downstairs, we’re going to eat it, and then we’re going to slay that paper together.” You slammed your hand against Bokuto’s shoulder, snapping him out of his slump.  
  
He rubbed his shoulder and pouted at you, but the prospect of ice cream lured him out of his chair and he followed you to the door. Akaashi took a moment to clear his bed so he could get off without messing up his books and notes. He grabbed an umbrella and closed the door behind him.  
  
You made small talk with Bokuto on your way downstairs, trying to get his mind off the work load by chatting about an anime both of you were interested in. Before long, Bokuto was reenacting fight scenes while walking backwards, making you laugh while Akaashi mostly seemed to tolerate the antics around him. Perhaps a month ago, this would have made you feel horribly awkward and rude, but you had gotten better at reading the subtleties of Akaashi’s mood, and this seemed like one of those moments where he simply enjoyed the company around him, rather than directly involve himself with the silliness.   
  
Though the temperature was already rising to summery temperatures, rain season had not let up yet. Once you got outside the three of you attempted to huddle under Akaashi’s umbrella. He made you hold it, shielding you from most of the rain while the boys got their sides rained upon. Though you felt bad about it, every time you tried to pass on the umbrella they insisted it was no problem and eventually you gave up. They probably still had your recent sickness in their memory.  
  
To compensate, you stood firm that you would pay for the ice cream once you got to the vending machine. After a small argument, you all got a flavour you liked and you grinned in victory as you put away your wallet.  
  
Back upstairs, there was a rare moment of quiet when all three of you dug into the ice cream and simply enjoyed the break. Considering the company, the silence did not last long.  
  
“Garlic?”  
  
“Beef.”  
  
“Hmm, popcorn.”  
  
“What are you talking about! That doesn’t sound half-bad!”  
  
“Okay, giant spider crab then.”  
  
“Ugh, gross! Octopus.”  
  
“Actually, I saw that at Namja Town.”  
  
“You are kidding me. Please tell me you had some.”  
  
“Ack, no way!”  
  
Akaashi seems to be resigned in ignoring the discussion around him while you and Bokuto tried to one-up each other in making up weird flavours of ice cream. However, you could tell from his relaxed posture that he was enjoying himself.  
  
The ice cream was gone far too quickly, and you could instantly see the change in Bokuto’s demeanour. He gathered the empty tubs and plastic spoons, threw them in the trash and walked back to his desk like a man on death row.  
  
You chewed your lip, determined to help your friend out get his work done ...even if he was the upperclassman in the room. You walked over to him and picked up one of the books, leafing through the chapters. “Okay, what can we do for you?”  
  
Akaashi rose an eyebrow at being included, but did not object.  
  
“You just need to write a conclusion now, right? So what do you have so far?”  
  
Gently, you guided Bokuto through the rough lines of his paper, while you and Akaashi tried to pin-point the parts relevant for the end. Though you had not gotten to this specific subject matter yet, enough had already come up in class to make you capable of helping Bokuto out, even if you didn’t always fully understand what he was talking about.  
  
“...that’s it, right? Is it done?”  
  
Bokuto quieted down for a moment, reading back over his work. You rarely saw such a concentrated look on his face, only during that practise match you saw a while back.  
  
You held your breath as Bokuto’s eyes moved over the text while Akaashi fiddled with his hands. After what seemed like forever, Bokuto looked at both of you with a wide grin. “And that twenty minutes before the deadline!”  
  
You let out a loud whoop, then blanched and covered your mouth, remembering how late it was. Akaashi patted his friend on the back and exhaled slowly.  
  
Huge grin still stuck on his face, Bokuto composed a quick email to his professor and attached the now finished paper. “I couldn’t have done it without you! Thank you so much, you guys are awesome!”  
  
Akaashi shook his head. “No problem, Bokuto-san. Except.. I thought you were supposed to be the senpai here.”  
  
“I- I totally am! This means nothing!”  
  
Laughing at their antics, you started to gather your own things. “It’s no problem, Bokuto! I’m glad I could help you.”  
  
Bokuto jumped up from his chair and pulled both of you in a big hug, smushing your face against his hard shoulder. You umpfed and rubbed your cheek once Bokuto released you from his grip, pouting when Akaashi shot you an amused glance.  
  
“I better head back to get some sleep,” you said, pointing a thumb at the door. You gathered your things while Bokuto jumped around you, trying to re-establish his position as senpai by offering to help you out with a wide array of activities, from studying to video-game assistance to fighting off unwelcome advances of boys.  
  
You chuckled at him and squeezed his shoulder gently in a spontaneous impulse of affection, then turned towards Akaashi. Perhaps it was the late time, the exhaustion from all this studying, but you could not stop yourself from reaching out to him as you walked past and, for just a second, clasped his shoulder as well. As you reached the door you gave them one last look and grinned.  
  
“Goodnight, guys, I’ll see you later,” you said, fighting off a yawn to finish the sentence.  
  
Both of them wished you a goodnight and you closed the door behind you. You took a deep breath and smiled, taking a moment to enjoy the warm feeling that spread through your chest.  Quietly, you opened the door to your own room, since Aya had messaged you an hour back that she headed to bed. With as little noise as possible, you went through your pre-bed rituals, then fell asleep with surprising ease.


	15. Chapter 15

You smashed buttons frantically on your small console, praying the batteries would hold out until the end of this fight.  
  
Opposite of you sat Aya, trying to keep her attention on her book while you made small noises of frustration. Her eyes kept travelling up to watch you, partly amused by your antics, partly annoyed she couldn’t focus on the book. However, that was mostly because of the noise of washing machines doing their job, and not your fault.  
  
Eventually, she slammed her book shut and stared at you.  
  
The two of you sat on the floor of the laundry room, waiting for your machines to finish. Most people didn’t stick around for that, despite the warnings on the wall about leaving laundry unattended, but you both had some bad experiences with that.  
  
“What’s up, Aya?” you said, never taking your eyes off the game. The boss only had a small sliver of health left, but so did you.  
  
She grumbled, staring at you with a petulant pout. “I can’t focus here.”  
  
You winced when the boss attacked a little earlier than you expected, throwing off the timing of your dodge. A dramatic GAME OVER entered your screen, and you growled in frustration while you turned off the console and put it to the side.  
  
“Yeah, I can’t either.”  
  
Yep, that was your excuse for losing, and you were sticking to it.  
  
You stared at each other for a while, sitting in silence except for the continuous drone of running washing machines. One of them revved up to a higher gear of noise, and both of you gave it an annoyed glance.  
  
Sighing, you ran a hand through your hair and resigned yourself in your fate. Aya’s phone lit up and she quickly send a message in reply. There was only person she responded to that fast.  
  
“Yuki?”  
  
Aya smiled faintly. “Stuck in physics hell,” she said, then put the phone back next to her.  
  
You grimaced in sympathy. “Hey, how are things between her and her roommate now? What was her name? Chiyo?” In any other case this would have been none of your business, but Aya regularly kept you up to date on whether Yuki and her roommate were fighting. After all, that said a lot about how much time she’d be spending in Aya and your room, instead of dividing it up more equally.  
  
“Chiyoko.”  
  
Another moment of silence, save the noise of the washing machines.  
  
“Not as bad as it’s been, I guess.” Aya frowned and bit on her lip. By now you knew her well enough to realise when she had something on her mind, and to be honest, you even had some idea of what it might be. “Yuki wants to change roommates next year.”  
  
You nodded slowly. Honestly, the longer their relationship went on, the more inevitable this outcome became to you. “And you’d like to be that roommate, right?” Your voice was calm, holding no accusation, no anger or worry, unlike what Aya might have expected.  
  
Aya looked a little embarrassed, twirling a handful of hair and rubbing circles on the floor with the tip of her finger.  
  
“I guess. I mean, it’s still way off. We’re not even halfway through the year, who knows what will happen. The school might not even approve of the request.” She looked up at you with a firm expression on her face. “I just thought it was only fair for you to mention it as early as possible. I wouldn’t want you to be blind-sided or caught off guard or anything.”  
  
You couldn’t help it; you laughed at her awkwardness. As always, Aya behaved so straight-forward towards you. It was a trait you really appreciated of her.  
  
“Don’t worry, Aya, I was pretty sure something like this would happen. You two have been all over each other for months now.”  
  
She had the grace to blush to a deep shade of red.  
  
“I’ll figure it out, so don’t sweat it. Nana mentioned she’s getting sick of commuting so who knows, maybe I can bunk with her instead.”  
  
Embarrassment overcome, Aya’s expression turned back to a smile. “Sounds like you have a handle on it, should anything happen.” Then she sighed loudly and shook her head. “If it happens, mind you! I mean, the time until next year is more than how long we’ve even been together so far!”  
  
You laughed and waved a hand at her. “Look at you all flustered! It’s adorable!”  
  
“Guh, quit it!”  
  
Narrowing her eyes at you, Aya gave you a penetrating stare.  
  
“So,” she said, tilting her head. “If it comes to a divorce between us, I assume you will want custody of the room?”  
  
For a moment you considered pretending you had no idea why she would suggest such a thing, but you were fairly sure your heated cheeks betrayed you. “Well,” you said, putting a finger to your lip, “I got to admit, I have grown very attached to the neighbourhood.”  
  
A loud beeping noise echoed through the laundry room, and both of you got up to check the machines. One was done, another following soon after, and you relocated the batches of clothes to the dryers.  
  
Just as you shut the lid, a familiar voice alongside two pair of footsteps approached the room. Aya and you exchanged a glance, recognising that exuberant tone from a mile away.  
  
As expected, Bokuto and Akaashi appeared around the corner, both carrying a basket of assorted clothes and towels. Bokuto’s face broke out into a grin when he saw you, while Akaashi gave the both of you a more subdued nod.  
  
You and Aya sat back on your places on the floor while the guys looked for free machines. After asking them how they were, Bokuto launched into an enthusiastic monologue of their practise session, of which it soon became clear that it would not end any time soon. Today obviously had been a good day for him. Akaashi caught your eye and inhaled tightly, which translated as a short apology for his friend. Neither you nor Aya minded though; it was always fun to listen to Bokuto’s happy ramblings.  
  
The guys finished loading the machines and Bokuto finally paused to take a breath. They stared at the two of you, sitting in the middle of the room, then exchanged a meaningful look with each other.  
  
“Uhm, are you guys _staying_ here?” Bokuto said, his tone implying that he felt silly for even suggesting such a ridiculous thing.  
  
You sighed deeply and Aya groaned, letting her head fall forward.  
  
“Yes, yes we are,” she said, her voice slightly muffled. Lifting her head back up, Aya gave the boys a hollow stare. “Some creep stole our underwear last time we left our stuff unattended. It cost me my favourite bra. Never again.”  
  
Bokuto turned absolutely red at her frankness and stared at her with his mouth slightly open. However, Akaashi was not worked up so easily.  
  
“I’m sorry that people suck so much,” he said, shaking his head.  
  
Both of you shrugged. Nothing to be done about it now. “It’s not that bad, this way we get to spend some quality time together,” you said. “Besides there’s surprisingly good wifi down here.”  
  
“I’m mostly interested in the wifi,” Aya deadpanned.  
  
“I love you, too.”  
  
Bokuto frowned. “Are you stuck here for much longer?” Honestly you almost couldn’t handle the look on his face; he seemed to feel way worse for you than the situation warranted. It was not like the world had ended.  
  
“We just put our stuff in the dryer, shouldn’t be more than forty minutes.”  
  
A resolute expression drew over his face, and Bokuto sat down next to you. His eye fell on your handheld console, causing instant excitement. “What are you playing!”  
  
While you loaded up the game and showed Bokuto how the final boss was troubling you, Akaashi sighed deeply and after a moment of consideration, also sat down. He recognised the book Aya had been reading, and discussed classic literature with her for a while, insofar that was possible with you and Bokuto being this noisy opposite of them.  
  
Since Bokuto had never played this game before, he was not very good at helping you. In fact, you seemed to die faster than ever.  
  
Neither of you were particularly put off by this.  
  
Soon enough the dryer beeped and you handed the game over to Bokuto during mid-fight. He grinned widely and smashed the buttons, though you could hear his frustrated growl before you even reached the dryer. You and Aya removed your clean and dry clothes and put them in the hamper.  
  
Bokuto lowered the console and gave you a sad frown. You shrugged. “We’ll figure it out.” Short pause. “Or maybe I’ll cave and see if there are any hints online.”  
  
The look he gave you made all too clear that Bokuto considered that giving up and the worst possible thing to do. Eh, if it meant being free of the eternal frustration caused by being unable to beat a damned video-game, it might be worth the risk of disappointing Bokuto.  
  
Akaashi got back up on his feet and stretched his legs out, while you and Aya gathered your stuff together. Bokuto followed a little slower, then handed your console back to you.  
  
“Thanks for keeping us company,” Aya said, holding one side of the hamper while you took the other one. She looked the boys over with a critical eye, then smiled at them. “You know, you guys are not too shabby! ...Well, compared to some of the others around here,” she continued, giving you a look of exasperation. You chuckled. Obviously Aya had not forgiven the bra-thief yet.  
  
Of course, Bokuto absolutely beamed with pride at the semi-compliment, but Akaashi gave Aya a sceptical look. “If ‘not stealing underwear’ is the standard that guys are being held to these days, ‘not too shabby’ isn’t much of an accomplishment.”  
  
“Akaashi! She’s being nice, don’t talk us down!”  
  
However, Aya laughed loudly, holding one arm over her stomach. When she quieted down she grinned at you. “So he’s the clever one, right?”  
  
You shrugged and grabbed the hamper. “He’s smarter than you, but that’s not much of an accomplishment either.”  
  
The guys blinked at your comment while Aya howled with laughter again. “Oooh, that was a good one! I didn’t think you had it in you!” She wiped away a tear and then took the other handhold of the hamper so you could carry it back to the room together.  
  
The four of you left the laundry room and you thanked the boys again for their company when you parted ways.  
  
Bokuto still seemed a little dejected; you were really surprised by exactly how bothered he was by the undies-theft. Of course, it pissed you off and made you want to spew salt and mutter about how much people sucked, but that was you. You just hadn’t expected it from someone outside of your family and closest circle of friends.  
  
Then again, you realised, perhaps you were selling the guys short if you did not include them amongst your close friends by now, with all the time you had spend together over the previous months. Especially considering their care while you were sick, and the ease at which you relaxed around them.  
  
You smiled and patted Bokuto on the back, which cheered him up a little. “Let’s hang out soon again, right?”  
  
He agreed with a big grin on his face.  
  
Then your eyes fell on Akaashi, and your smile grew as you thought back on the time spend together. Of him trying to reassure you when you were anxious, him getting annoyed with you when you did not take good care of yourself, his small smiles whenever you got excited about pretty much anything.  
  
Yes, you would definitely sell them short by not counting them amongst your closest friends by now.  
  
“Hopefully I’ll see you then, too.” You smiled at Akaashi, and his expression turned into a subdued mirror of yours.  
  
“You will.”  
  
You ignored the smirk on Aya’s face as the two of you entered the room, but the warmth that spread through your chest was harder to brush off.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure if it needs a it with the way it plays out, but just in case: warning of slight drunkenness during this chapter.

When Akaashi woke up in the middle of the night, at first he was not sure why.  
  
He sighed and turned around, trying to get back to sleep. Before he could doze off again, the sound of his cell echoed through the room. His eye twitched, partly annoyed at himself for forgetting to turn the sound off, partly at whoever was messaging him at this hour.  
  
_Ddi you know thers a stain shaped lke an owl on the ceiling?_  
  
Blinking, Akaashi reread your text, then continued on to the second one.  
  
_Nveermind I think ti looks more like a dog._  
  
Faint giggling could be heard from outside of his dorm room. He massaged his temples, then got up out of bed. He found a t-shirt to wear with his pyjama-pants, then walked to the hallway.  
  
You broke out in a huge smile when you saw Akaashi, waving at him from your spot on the floor. Akaashi sighed, quietly closed the door behind him and sat down next to you. You lay flat on your back, cell-phone next to your head. “Look! I thought it was an owl but I think it’s a puppy!” you said, pointing at the ceiling.  
  
Akaashi softly said your name, drawing your attention back to him, rather than the interesting view of animal shapes offered by ceiling tiles. “Please keep your voice down a little, it’s quite late.”  
  
Eyes widening in shock, you held a hand in front of your mouth. “Sorry,” you hissed, in what seemed to be a genuine attempt at speaking quieter. It was moderately successful. “But, you’re not looking!”  
  
Your speech was slightly drawled, and a red flush obvious on your cheeks. With a big grin, you pointed back at the ceiling.  
  
Sighing, Akaashi realised he had very little chance of getting you to talk of anything else before indulging you. He laid back on the floor next to you and tried to see what you were pointing at.  
  
Honestly, there was nothing even remotely resembling either a dog or an owl on there. “Ah. I see.”  
  
You giggled and turned to lay on your side, facing Akaashi. “I did something really stupid,” you said, again in that hissing voice that you seemed to think was quiet.  
  
“Oh?” He glanced to the side, noting how you were scooting in closer to him.  
  
“I lost my keys.”  
  
He sighed, now understanding the mystery of you sitting out in the hallway. Akaashi had hoped that you simply were too drunk to unlock the door, but it still took him only a second to decide what to do with you.  
  
“Is Aya home?”  
  
You shook your head, then yawned. “Still at the party.” Your voice started to lower to a genuine murmur, and Akaashi suspected that if he left you out here for long, you would fall asleep right on the floor.  
  
“Alright, you need to get up then.”  
  
As gentle as possible, Akaashi helped you back on your feet, picking up your phone in the process. He brought you back inside his room, putting a finger to his lips and gesturing towards Bokuto’s sleeping figure. You nodded vigorously, but still umpfed out loud when you dropped down in the bean bag.  
  
Akaashi unlocked your phone in one attempt, having seen you do it countless times by now, and looked up Aya in your contacts. He started typing a message while you fell out of the bean bag and scooted closer to Bokuto’s head. Frowning, Akaashi kept a close eye on you, but it seemed you weren’t going to wake his roommate up. Not intentionally, at least.  
  
Instead, you leaned close into his face and giggled. “Bokuto, you look so cute right now.” Still speaking in a quiet murmur, your voice did not wake him up. Well, he wiggled his nose when you softly poked him, but fortunately Bokuto always was a deep sleeper. “But you’re not as cute as Akaashi.”  
  
Akaashi’s eye twitched, trying to focus on finishing his polite message to Aya to come and let you into your room.  
  
“Wait no, sorry, no no nonono, I take that back,” you said, resting your cheek on Bokuto’s mattress. “You are the cute one, you are really super cute, so please don’t be sad, okay? Akaashi is the _pretty_ one.” You giggled into the soft fabric, shoulder shaking. “He is so pretty, you know. I mean, I don’t think I know _girls_ prettier than Akaashi.”  
  
Dammit. Akaashi could feel the flush on his cheeks. He pressed send, but made sure to keep his eyes on the phone, rather than look at you.  
  
“Aaahh, but don’t tell him I said so, okay? So embarrassing!”  
  
Akaashi sighed and got a large glass of water. You had moved on to babbling about how nice Bokuto’s hair looked like this and played with its soft strands when Akaashi bent down next to you to give you the glass.  
  
“Please, drink up.”  
  
Without a moment of hesitation or questioning you started gulping down the water, quickly finishing the glass. Akaashi got up for a refill, which you drank a little slower.  
  
He sat down in the bean bag, fiddling with your phone. For a moment he considered to interfere when he watched you almost knock over the glass while you tried to put it on Bokuto’s nightstand, but you managed by yourself. You quieted down and wiggled to make yourself a bit more comfortable. Akaashi considered whether it was more bothersome if you fell asleep, with the risk that he would have to carry you to your room, or if it was worse if you stayed awake and started saying troublesome things again.  
  
Your phone buzzed, and he saw a message from Aya, stating that she had found your keys and was already on her way up. Thank God that the party was inside the dorm building.  
  
“Aya is on her way here,” he said softly, but his words fell on deaf ears.  
  
Using your arms as pillows, you had fallen asleep already. Your mouth hung open and a light snore escaped you. Akaashi sighed and contemplated waking you up, then figured he might as well wait for Aya to arrive first.  
  
At the very least it meant you would not call him pretty any more.  
  
He ran a hand through his hair and wondered why he had felt so affected. This was not the first time someone said that, nor would it be the last. It just never flustered him before.  
  
It seemed to him that this, and everything that had led up to it, headed towards an inevitable conclusion. One he had been avoiding to think about for a while now;  
  
He liked you.  
  
Considering how you were currently drooling on Bokuto’s mattress, this seemed like an unlikely conclusion to come to.  
  
But he enjoyed the time you spend here, even if you were hanging out with Bokuto instead of him. He appreciated your determination and the honesty you had shown him. He enjoyed your cheerful disposition - he even enjoyed trying to figure out just what made you tick, and what were the best courses of action to keep that smile on your face, rather than have you fall in an anxious state of mind.  
  
Akaashi twitched and glanced at Bokuto, someone else he considered an important person in his life. It seemed he had a type.  
  
A soft knock on the door interrupted his thoughts, and he let out a deep breath when Aya came inside. He checked your cell; not even ten minutes since he had messaged her.  
  
“How is she?” Aya whispered, walking up to you and softly touching your hair. She seemed surprisingly sober.  
  
Akaashi shrugged. “Fell asleep about ten seconds after she sat down.” He joined her at your side and gently tugged at your shoulder.  
  
You babbled some nonsense and repositioned yourself, but did not wake up. Rubbing her forehead, Aya sighed. “Well, this is going to be fun.” They both put one of your arms around their neck and tugged you upward.  
  
This was enough movement to shake you awake, though you still did not seem very invested in supporting your own weight. “Aya?”  
  
“I’m here.”  
  
“Good.”  
  
Between the three of you, it was a slow shuffle to across the hall, and Aya quickly unlocked the door. Akaashi helped you to your bed, after deciding that trying to make you get changed for sleeping gave more trouble than it was worth. If she wanted to, Aya was free to make an attempt after he left.  
  
The way you stared at him while he tucked you in was almost unnerving, but he ignored it best he could.  
  
“Akaashi?”  
  
“Yeah.”  
  
“Thanks.”  
  
The corner of his lips tugged upwards and he brushed a few stray hairs out of your face. “Any time.”


	17. Chapter 17

During the last few weeks, Akaashi found that an increasing amount of his thoughts revolved around you. Lately, he found himself particularly preoccupied with the subject of how to handle his feelings.

There truly was no point denying it anymore; he liked you.

Sitting cross-legged on the bed, he let the calm of isolation wash over him. He had a rare moment by himself in his dorm room; his afternoon class had been cancelled, but Bokuto still had a lecture to attend. This gave him a chance to see if he could sort through the scenario at hand. That is, trying to figure out what to do about you.

It started out easy enough. Scenario A: he confessed. Scenario B: he kept his feelings to himself. However, from there on out he found himself confronted with a growing myriad of possibilities and speculations.

If he did not confess, either he would get over his feelings or not, with various consequences to the latter. Your friendship might very well be at stake there.

So what would happen if he confessed? Was that not far more precarious? Either you would reject him or accept his feelings, or perhaps make him wait on an answer.

The tree of potentials grew.

That last scenario was just an in-between. You would eventually have to make a choice. No need to dwell on that one now.

In the case of rejection, either you continued on the way you did now, or the contact between you would die out from awkward conversations and hurt feelings. But if you accepted his feelings...

(And though he hated to make assumptions, he had a suspicion that you might.)

Akaashi noticed he had trouble swallowing.

Not because nobody had ever taken an interest in him before, but Akaashi had always kept himself at a distance from relationships. Volleyball took up so much of his time and energy, and the rest was swallowed up by maintaining his grades, or so it felt. There simply did not seem to be time in his life to show another person the appreciation and attention they deserved.

In this regard, there was no difference between you and any other potential partner, and it made him question whether confessing was the right decision.

With his left thumb and index finger, he softly rubbed around the tip of his right middle finger. He could not deny that there were big differences in other regards. For one, the fact that he could not remember ever feeling this level of interest in a girl before. Also, somehow you managed to actually spend quite a bit of time together so far. Perhaps not as much as a couple would, or as he did with teammates and his closest friends like Bokuto, but by his standards, it still was a notable amount of time.

Would you be satisfied with that?

A knock on the door interrupted his train of thought, a good thing since its direction had been heading straight towards Bokuto. His best friend in the world, of whom Akaashi still suspected he might have some latent feelings towards you as well. You had really managed to wrap them around your fingers, hadn’t you.

Akaashi sighed. And you probably didn’t even realise.

“It’s open,” he said, and wondered why he was surprised to see the subject of his brooding opening the door. You smiled at him and gave a small wave.

“Is it okay if I come in?”

Hesitating for only a moment, Akaashi nodded.

You ambled inside and sighed, intertwining your fingers together while resting them against the back of your neck. “Aaah, sorry to bother you but I’m just so bored with everyone else stuck in class!” You pulled at the bean bag, then plopped down into it. A content grin appeared on your face as you wiggled deeper into the seat, but it quickly faded when you saw his expression. “Akaashi, are you okay?”

Multiple answers flitted through his mind, most of them impulsive and unwise. He was surprised you had even noticed something; not a lot of people could tell he wasn’t feeling good when he consciously tried to hide this fact. The thought made him smile.

“Just feeling a little stressed, I’ll be fine. How are you doing?”

Your face betrayed the inner conflict and you bit your lip. Probably trying to decide whether to press the issue or let it go. To his relief, you choose the latter, though your expression stayed cautious.

“Well, bored out of my brain,” you said, stretching out your arms. “Want to go do something? Or is it alright if I hang out here?”

Akaashi rose an eyebrow. “Are you even capable of getting out of that thing now?”

You laughed and instantly tried to stand up, reaching forward with your body. It took you a moment, needing to press your hands deeply into the bean bag for proper stabilisation, but eventually you stood upright, grinning at Akaashi in triumph.

A surge of amusement went through him, enjoying your pride over such a small accomplishment. You walked over to the window and looked outside, basking in the sunlight.

“It’s really nice outside today,” you said softly, eyes focused on some point far away. “Want to go get a snack? My treat.” You tore your gaze away from the view and smiled at Akaashi.

When you had walked into the room just now, he had not been quite sure what kind of effect that would have on his turmoil of thoughts, all involving you. But with you standing in front of him, with that crooked smile and hands clasped behind you, somehow he found that his brain slowed down and let his internal debate go. He could finally relax.

He stood up and joined you for a walk outside, enjoying the sunny day - a rare one in the middle of rain reason. After a short argument about payment, you bought him an umeboshi rice ball and got your favourite for yourself.

You chatted to him about your day as you strolled across campus, slowly making your way back to the dorm rooms. You told him about your plans for the summer, of going back to your parents for a couple of days, while he spoke about the training camps that had been planned. Akaashi was quite sure that Bokuto must have already told you all this, but you listened with genuine interest. It was one of the things he liked about you, that single-minded attention you could give to a person or activity.

The two of you slowly rounded back to the dorm, time getting near the start of Akaashi’s afternoon practise.

Standing in front of his door, Akaashi noticing you shuffling a little, obviously trying to get something off your chest before parting ways. He waited patiently.

You smiled a little, a crooked smile that he always enjoyed seeing, even if this one was somewhat awkward. “Thanks for keeping me company.”

For a brief moment he wondered why you thought it was necessary to thank him for something as simple as this, but then it occurred to him that you did not spend a lot of time together, just the two of you, at least not outside of library sessions. Combined with the insecurity you had in various social interactions, Akaashi reasoned that must be why you felt the need to express thanks. In fact, considering previous behaviour, he felt faintly surprised that you didn’t apologise for taking up his time, being a bother, or something similar.

A surge of warmth went through his chest, and Akaashi had to control the urge to confess to you right then and there.

However, he still needed time to think this through. He refused to disrespect either of you by making impulsive and rash decisions. Besides, there was Bokuto to consider. So instead he smiled at you. “No, I should thank you for the onigiri,” he said, enjoying the blush that rose to your cheeks. “Besides, I enjoyed myself. This was fun.”

The increasing redness on your face was delightful. Akaashi gave a small nod then disappeared inside his room. Taking a deep breath, he gave himself a moment to reorganise his internal thoughts towards volleyball practise.

Today may not have been very fruitful when it came to figuring out what to do about his feelings for you.

But somehow despite that, his day had turned out much better than expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Akaashi-does-not-think-he’d-be-a-good-boyfriend HC is one I discovered at this awesome blog (http://imaginehquties.tumblr.com/post/137134816593/some-akaashi-studyschool-headcanons-like-what), and it resonated so deeply with me that I honestly can’t imagine him otherwise now. I lovingly adopted it from them and really fuelled me while writing this chapter :3
> 
> Especially considering the rating of this story is only Teen, I do feel I should warn people that though the post I linked to is SFW, there is NSFW content on that tumblr! Tread carefully when perusing~


	18. Chapter 18

The approaching midterms left everyone with precious little time to socialise. Aya was the only one you still spoke to regularly (perks of being roommates), sometimes you got the chance to chat with Nana and Akaashi before or after classes, Yuki came by very little with her own workload pressuring her, and you barely even saw Bokuto.  
  
Because making this easy on you would be a luxury, one of your professors had somehow come to the conclusion that giving you only the vaguest guidelines on what would be covered in the midterms was the best course of action. Independent thinking and all that.  
  
Panic started to boil up in your brain, and when you glanced beside you, Nana’s usual tired expression had made way for visible discomfort. On the other side of you, Akaashi let out an exasperated sigh.  
  
In fact, all around you the atmosphere in the lecture hall had grown tense. The class ended, and the rumour of people shuffling around and packing their things filled the room. You looked from Nana to Akaashi, both of which displayed murderous feelings towards the professor on their face. “So... combine forces and try to figure it out ourselves?”  
  
Akaashi gave a terse nod and Nana’s bottom lip trembled a little. “We could also just kill the guy?” she suggested, her expression desperate enough that she might just be a little serious.  
  
“He probably already wrote the test, it would not help us,” Akaashi said.  
  
“Yeah, otherwise it would be totally fine,” you deadpanned, slowly gathering your stuff together. “I’m free now, what about you guys?” It was Thursday, so you knew Akaashi would at least have no afternoon practise.  
  
Akaashi shrugged. “Better to get it over with quickly.”  
  
On your right you heard a soft whine, but after a moment of expressing her anguish, Nana nodded in agreement. “Library?”  
  
“I think Aya has a late class, our room should be empty. Also, we have cookies.” You smiled at how quickly Nana perked up.  
  
“Okay, what are we waiting for then!”  
  
The three of you headed straight towards the dorms, and you let Nana into your room while Akaashi quickly dropped in his own to give Bokuto a head’s up of where he was.  
  
“Bokuto says hi,” he said to you, closing your door behind him. Nana sniffed out the roll of cookies and offered one to everyone, already making herself right at home.  
  
By the time Aya returned from class, you were still not done. She put on her headphones and left you mostly alone, having plenty to do herself. Only an empty wrapper remained of the cookies when it was time for dinner, and the three of you were fairly sure you had figured out the most important subjects for the test. Nana returned home, reassuring you she’d pick up a healthy meal on the way back. Afterwards there was still no time to relax; you really needed to dig into the material for those tests.  
  
Your last week before midterms were very monotonous, though you tried to build in moments to relax as well. One time you came so close to a mental break-down, Aya physically dragged you out of the room to take a long walk around campus. While she kept you grounded, in return you helped her make a learning schedule and, at her insistence, regularly checked if she was actually sticking to it.  
  
Together, you made it through with a manageable amount of desperation. You pushed every ounce of your mental strength to keep your focus throughout the exams, telling yourself you could just crash later. Not now. Right now you needed to have a clear head without unnecessary thoughts.  
  
After your last exam, Aya and you stacked in on drinks and snacks.  
  
“I am so looking towards to this,” Aya said, clutching her plastic bag a little tighter.  
  
You grinned widely. “Finally, staying up out of our own free will, instead of having midterms breath down our necks.” You were surprised by how much energy you had, as though the release of imminent school horrors had awakened something inside of you.  
  
Judging by the bounce in her step, Aya felt the same.  
  
“Yes, screw midterms,” she said, “now it’s time to make bad life-choices on our own terms.”  
  
You were giddy all the way back to your dorm room, discussing with Aya all the things were going to do now your time was finally your own again.  
  
Dumping your bag in the middle of the room, you flopped down on your chair and whirled around. The chair slowly stopped turning and you could see Aya sitting on the floor, sorting the snacks and drinks in some kind of system only she understood.  
  
Then the worst thing happened.  
  
You unsuccessfully stifled a huge yawn.  
  
Aya stared at you in horror for a long moment, before she quickly put her hand in front of her mouth and followed your lead.  
  
“Ugh, dammit,” you muttered, swivelling a couple extra times in the chair, trying to get your energy back up. Somehow, your energy had dropped like a brick within a matter of seconds, and exhaustion just smothered over you like a huge, warm blanket. Another yawn. “You got to be kidding me.”  
  
Aya sighed and leaned backwards, her head resting on her mattress. “You just had to go and yawn, didn’t you.”  
  
You grimaced. “Maybe this bad life-choice will have to wait until tomorrow.” With some effort, you pushed yourself out of the chair and helped Aya back on her feet.  
  
She scolded at you, but had a hard time fighting you on it since another urge to yawn overtook her, obviously entering an exhausted state similar to yours. “Okay, fiiine,” she drawled, throwing her hands up in the air. “But tomorrow night we are going to make some really irresponsible decisions!”  
  
Honestly, the following day the worst consequence of your choices was the stomach ache you got from eating too many snacks, but it still felt like your first evening spend in true freedom in weeks, and that made it all worth it.


	19. Chapter 19

Oohh yes, that looked good. Aw man, that was awesome. He totally needed to try that. Would Akaashi want to try that? Doesn’t matter, his powers of persuasion would convince him. This was too cool to not at least attempt one time.  
  
Stuck waiting between doing the exams and getting back the results, so close to summer break, Bokuto really needed something to keep his mind off those school results.  
  
Browsing through videos of matches between professional volleyball teams, he felt himself getting pumped up. He replayed some bits multiple times, sometimes slowing down the video so he could see extra carefully what was going on.  
  
He had just moved on to a different video when someone knocked on the door. “It’s open!” he said, barely looking at who came inside.  
  
However, he instantly did a double-take when a tall, dark-haired girl opened the door. “Aya-chan?” What was she doing here? Bokuto paused the video and looked at her, tilting his head. She looked serious, not exactly the expression he was used to seeing on her. “Is something wrong?”  
  
She opened her mouth, hesitated, then closed it again.  
  
Bokuto swivelled his chair around to give her his full attention, large golden eyes settling on her.  
  
Shuffling her feet and running a hand through her hair, Aya stood awkwardly in the middle of the room. “I need some help. (Name) isn’t doing so hot and...” She sighed. “I feel horrible about it, but I really can’t afford to miss practise today.”  
  
Bokuto stood up instantly, eyes flitting between Aya and the door. “Did something happen?”  
  
Again Aya opened her mouth, and failed to get words out. She took in a slow breath, then sighed. “She’s a bit overwhelmed by a couple of things. I think she pushed herself over her limits during the exams, and it’s catching up on her now.” Aya ran a hand through her hair and let out another hard sigh. “Look, I just don’t want to leave her alone when she’s like this, you know?”  
  
“Yeah, no, no problem,” Bokuto said, stumbling a little over his words. He was filled with the twin sensation of being worried over your well-being, but also feeling quite proud that he was being relied on. “Leave it to me!”  
  
Aya grimaced and gave him one last look before walking back out the door. “Just... be patient with her, okay?”  
  
Bokuto blinked as he watched Aya leave. He hesitated only for a second, then grabbed his phone and made his way across the hall. When he knocked there was no response, but considering what Aya had told him, Bokuto had no qualms about entering the room anyway.  
  
The first thing he noticed was how dark the room was, blinds closed despite the fact that it was early afternoon. The second thing was your figure, huddled underneath a blanket on your bed. Burrowed deeply in its warmth, you sat upright, leaning against the wall and staring in front of you. Your eyes flickered towards him for a second, then you let out a soft whine and tried to wiggle deeper into your little nest.  
  
“I told Aya not to,” you said, your voice thin and shaky.  
  
Frowning, Bokuto pulled up your desk chair so he sat opposite of you. “Why?”  
  
You chewed on your lip and stared some distant point behind him. A heavy silence fell between you.  
  
“Is it okay if I sit down there?” he said, gesturing towards the bed. When you did not respond, he kept a careful eye on your reactions while he moved onto the bed. You gave him a sideways glance, but did not protest.  
  
You stared down at his hands, resting on his legs.  
  
“So you wanted to sit here by yourself all day?” Honestly, it upset Bokuto a little. He knew what it was like to feel down in the dumps, and not having to go through it alone, having a team and friends nearby always helped him pull out of there faster.  
  
Just the slightest tremble ran through your body, but Bokuto’s alert eyes did not miss it. “I-”  
  
Bokuto tilted his head and looked at you, waiting for you to get your words out.  
  
“I don’t- it’s okay if you rather go away. I don’t want to be a bother.” Your words were a strange cascade, slowing down and then suddenly spilling out as though you hoped he’d miss them, then slowing down again towards the end.  
  
He shook his head, then softly spoke up. “(Name), it’s okay. What can I do for you?”  
  
You drew a shaky breath, as though even such a natural motion cost you effort to perform. “I think I’d rather be alone right now.”  
  
His brow furrowed. “Are you just saying that to get me out of the room, or because you actually think that’d be better?” He paused, studying your tense expression. Bokuto sighed and stretched his arms out above him, then turned his attention back to you. “Because sometimes that is good, you know. Sometimes when I’m feeling depressed, other people just leave me alone for a while and it gives me some time to put things back in perspective.”  
  
He gave you another long, hard stare.  
  
“I mean, I could be wrong, but I don’t think that’s what’s going on right now? (Name), you don’t have to push me away if you don’t want to be alone.”  
  
Your shoulders shook, and Bokuto’s chest gave a small pang as he saw you trying to hold back tears. Before even properly thinking his actions through, he put his arms around you and pulled you into a firm hug. For a moment you froze, and Bokuto hoped he had not just made a horrible mistake. Then you clutched onto his shoulders and cried.  
  
Your sobs were loud and your fingers trembled from the force with which you grabbed onto his shirt. The fabric was getting wet from your tears, but Bokuto focused on you instead. He held one arm firmly around you, the other rubbed slow circles over your upper back.  
  
He was not sure for how long you sat there. At some point your crying died down, but you continued to hold onto him with a strength he had not expected from you.  
  
Eventually your arms sagged, and a small hiccup escaped you that sounded so cute it made Bokuto chuckle.  
  
The sound seemed to unlock something within you, because next thing he knew, your shoulders were shaking with muffled laughter instead. He grinned and gently pried your hands lose so he could pull you away just enough to make eye-contact.  
  
“Is that better?”  
  
You wiped away some last tears, your eyes and cheeks puffy and red. With a shaky smile, you nodded. Bokuto spotted a box of tissues on your nightstand and offered them to you. You softly blew your nose, then crumpled up the tissue and got a second one to dry your eyes.  
  
Bokuto put his arm around your shoulder. “Do you want to talk about it now?”  
  
Grimacing, you let out a deep sigh. “It’s just stupid stuff.”  
  
He shook his head. “It’s not stupid if it made you this upset.” Bokuto put down the box of tissues between you and ran a hand through his hair. “Like I said, you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, but I promise I won’t laugh at you or whatever.”  
  
You took a long breath and leaned forward. Bokuto took the hint and removed his arm from your shoulder. He listened intently while you told him how stressful the midterms had been, and waved away your self-deprecating remarks about how ‘everyone dealt with the same pressure so it’s silly’ and ‘midterms are already over so why am I being like this now’.  
  
Bokuto blinked as the focus started to shift from school achievements to a more broader feeling, something deeper lying underneath. “I’m just afraid I won’t do good enough. That I” - you gulped for air - “am not good enough.”  
  
With a startle, your eyes widened and you sat back upright, as though only now realising what you were saying. Bokuto sat back as well, following your movement. He cocked his head and studied your expression. Wait, were you embarrassed over what you just said?  
  
He said your name, drawing your gaze to meet his. “Hey, you are one of the most awesome people I know.” Sighing, Bokuto rubbed the back of his head. “I don’t know if this will help you or anything, but I think I kinda know what you mean.”  
  
Blinking slowly, you kept staring at him.  
  
Chuckling, Bokuto felt himself get a little flustered and grinned at you. “I mean, you’ve seen how I can get, right? Sometimes I worry way too much about what other people think. Like their expectations are the only thing that matters, and I get it into my head they’re so high that there’s no possible way I’ll ever live up to that.”  
  
Your breathing started to get even again.  
  
“I guess that it helps for me that I have Akaashi and the rest of the team? Somehow Akaashi always knows what I need, honestly it’s creepy sometimes.” Bokuto laughed to himself, and felt a surge of relief when he saw a small smile tug at your lips. “Uhm? I think I’m trying to say that it’s important to remember that you have more worth than just trying to be how you think other people want you to be?”  
  
Though you nodded slowly, Bokuto was not entirely sure if his words were really getting through to you. Well, maybe that was not the most important thing for right now. He knew from his own experience that these kinds of issues did not get fixed with just a few words, as much as he would love to do that for you. It was more important to just make you feel better now.  
  
“Anyway, I think you’re totally awesome.”  
  
You chuckled and lightly elbowed him in the side. “You already said that.”  
  
He shrugged. “No harm in repeating it. You’re awesome. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of hanging out with you.”  
  
When you let your head drop and he saw a tremble go through your body, Bokuto gulped and hoped he had been right in what he said, that there wasn’t any harm. He put a hand on your shoulder and rubbed his thumb in small circles.  
  
“Sorry, was that too much?”  
  
You kept staring at your lap, but he could feel some of the tension in your back seep away.  
  
“Akaashi keeps warning me that I can get a little too carried away sometimes, but I guess I haven’t learnt yet,” he said with a grin, running a hand through his hair.  
  
Your shoulder shook, but this time with a chuckle. Finally you lifted your head again, and Bokuto felt for you when he saw your exhausted face.  
  
“Now, what can we do to make you feel better? Do you want me to leave so you can take a nap?”  
  
For a moment it seemed like you were going to lean into him, then your body stilled and you shook your head. “Uhm, I” - you hesitated, biting your lip again - “I think I could use a distraction. I... I’m not sure what’ll happen if I’m alone now.”  
  
He couldn’t help but smile, relieved you choose for his company instead of solitude. “Well, we could watch a movie. I got a couple of dvd’s in my room, your pick.”  


* * *

  
You shuffled after Bokuto, arms wrapped tightly around yourself. Though you did not feel quite back to normal yet, it was an immense improvement compared to before Bokuto had walked into your room.  
  
He let you choose out of a handful of dvd’s, and fluffed up his pillow against the wall and made you settle down on his bed, where you drew your knees up to your chin and wrapped your arms around your legs while he started the movie.  
  
Honestly, you had barely paid attention to what you picked out. An older movie started playing, something Western by the look of it. English voices came from the speakers, and you tried to keep your attention on the subtitles.  
  
You wiggled a little closer into the pillow, the warmth and scent comforting you. It smelled like laundry detergent and Bokuto, fresh and familiar.  
  
Though you tried to follow what was going on in the movie, you often caught yourself dozing off. It was like all the energy had been drained out of you, and you felt yourself getting a little cold. Bokuto sat next to you in the bean bag, and you regularly caught him glancing at you. His alert expression would instantly transform into a wide grin when your eyes met, and then he returned his attention to the movie.  
  
Just as you fought to keep your eyes open again, the door opened and Akaashi returned to the dorm room. He carried a large plastic bag with a box inside it. After putting it on his desk, he looked from you to Bokuto.  
  
You were one hundred percent sure you still looked like a wreck, and flushed under Akaashi’s inquisitive gaze.  
  
“(Name)? What’s wrong?”  
  
You swallowed thickly and shrugged. “Not my best day,” you said, hugging your legs a little tighter. A shiver ran through you, and Akaashi’s eyes narrowed in thought.  
  
Instantly he walked over to his own bed and gathered up his blanket. Bokuto protested for a second when Akaashi walked through his line of sight to the TV, but Akaashi ignored him. Your breath caught as warmth enveloped you.  
  
He gently tucked the blanket around you then touched your cheek, for such a short moment you almost thought you imagined it. You took a deep breath and tried to relax your limbs a little, no longer forcefully keeping your knees up to your chin.  
  
The guys really did smell nice, you thought as the slightly sweeter scent of Akaashi joined Bokuto’s. You closed your eyes, letting the blanket and affection from those around you warm you up from your core. You sighed and felt your eyes close again, but this time you did not fight it.  
  
From a distance you could hear Bokuto and Akaashi talk, Bokuto explaining to him how he had taken it upon himself to take care of you until Aya came back, then asking Akaashi if he had succeeded with shopping. Akaashi replied, but his voice sounded muted to your ears and before long even the noise of the movie dissipated and only one feeling remained as you fell asleep.  
  
_Safe_.  


* * *

  
Akaashi showed Bokuto his new sport shoes, then removed them from the box and put them away in his dresser with his other sport necessities. When he sat down in his desk chair and glanced at the screen (this movie again? How many times had Bokuto seen it by now?), he noticed Bokuto smiling at your sleeping form.  
  
With a small sigh, Bokuto turned away and looked at Akaashi. Some of the warmth in his face fell away, and Bokuto’s expression turned more serious than Akaashi was used to.  
  
“You like her, right?”  
  
Refusing to be caught off guard by the question, Akaashi rose an eyebrow. “Of course.” He had no intention of playing coy, of pretending he did not know exactly what kind of meaning ‘like’ had in this context.  
  
“Yeah...” Bokuto looked at you again, then reached up to tug up the blanket just a little higher, since it had started to slide down from your arms. “I like her, too.”  
  
Akaashi swallowed.  
  
This was not exactly a surprise to him; he had suspected for a while now that Bokuto was becoming extremely fond of you. However, the fact that his friend had not brought anything up until now had made Akaashi unsure of his observations; Bokuto tended to be very upfront about his feelings about anything or anyone.  
  
He could tell Bokuto wanted to say more but was hesitating. Patiently, Akaashi waited for him to continue, trying to use this chance to gather his own thoughts.  
  
The thought of such a large source of potential friction between him and Bokuto made him more nervous than he cared to admit. It was not something he had ever counted on to happen. Fortunately, Bokuto found his words again before Akaashi’s train of thought could spin out of control.  
  
“I’m not sure... I could be really off base here, but,” Bokuto almost stammered, wringing his hands, “I think she might like us both?”  
  
Akaashi froze.  
  
The thoughts swirling around in his head came to a stand-still.  
  
Bokuto got flustered, waving his hands and coming off as slightly panicked until he pulled himself together and crossed his arms. “I mean, I’m a hundred percent sure she likes you,” he said, a pout hanging on his lips. “But sometimes when it’s just us, I don’t know, I think there is a vibe going on?”  
  
Blinking slowly, Akaashi let the interactions between you and Bokuto pass through his mental vision. Yes, he had noticed about Bokuto’s feelings. Thinking back, he wondered how it was possible he had missed your behaviour around his friend - no, not missed. Just... not associated it with any romantic interest. Had his knowledge of your crush on him blinded him to any potential feelings for Bokuto?  
  
Embarrassed, Akaashi fiddled with his hands. He was not used to lapses of judgement of quite that size.  
  
Bokuto had been carefully watching him, and now nodded slowly. “You think so, too?”  
  
Akaashi sighed. “I don’t know anything for sure,” he said, leaning forward in his chair. “But yes, I think you might be right. So, what are we supposed to do now?”  
  
It had been a rhetorical question, expressed out of frustration. Akaashi had definitely not expected Bokuto’s amused expression.  
  
“Well, isn’t there a really obvious option here?”  
  
Akaashi’s brow furrowed as he took in Bokuto’s words, then his eyes widened. “Boku-” His mouth gaped and he stared at his roommate. “Bokuto-san, that’s a horrible idea.”  
  
It was almost infuriating how easily Bokuto shrugged and grinned at him.  
  
“It will never work,” Akaashi continued, slowly recovering from Bokuto’s insane suggestion. “Even assuming she’d agree to it, how do you possible think that could work?”  
  
He shrugged again. “We’d figure something out.”  
  
“Bokuto, you get jealous already when _I_ don’t pay enough attention to you.” Akaashi gave him a pointed look. “How would this turn into anything but a huge drama?”  
  
To his surprise, Bokuto’s expression turned serious. “Look, I know this is not the most... traditional way to go about things but” - he hesitated and stared at the floor, actually looking embarrassed - “if there is anyone I could make this work with, it’d be you.”  
  
Akaashi stilled.  
  
They both avoided eye-contact while something heavy pressed on the air between them.  
  
“It’s still a horrible idea,” Akaashi finally deadpanned, growing increasingly anxious to break this awkward silence.  
  
Bokuto laughed, a little too loud, a bit too forced. “You’re probably right,” he said, rubbing the back of his head. “Hey, I found a cool move today that I want to try out. Come check it out.” He moved behind his laptop and grinned at Akaashi, gesturing him to come watch the video. Akaashi smiled and mentally prepared himself to see something that was far beyond their abilities, though that never stopped Bokuto from wanting to try.  
  
That seemed to be the end of it.  
  
However, Akaashi knew that once a seed got planted inside Bokuto’s head, shaking it lose could be quite the challenging exercise.


	20. Chapter 20

You were worried.  
  
As much as you tried to reason away your anxiety, you could not help it. Three days had passed since Bokuto had witnessed you in full melt-down mode, and you still had not heard anything from him. You stared at your phone, and the message you had just send, asking him if he could hang out at his place this evening.  
  
It was not that you were unwilling to initiate contact between the two of you, you just were unused to having to do that in the first place. And spending time with him had become such a regular occurrence (until midterms got in the way), that even though it had only been three days, usually you would have heard from him again by now. If not to invite you to do something, at least to tell you about all the random things that happened to him.  
  
And even though he had been such a rock during your breakdown, such a reassuring and comforting presence, you were now plagued by the thought that you had scared him away. It had been the first time he saw you in such a vulnerable state; something not a lot of people got to see in the first place.  
  
What if this had made him decide you were too much trouble for the effort?  
  
You bit your lip and clenched your fingers around your phone, willing him to respond quickly. Fortunately, the screen lit up within five minutes. With trembling hands you read the new message.  
  
_Awesome, let’s do it!!_  
  
You let out a shaky breath, Bokuto’s enthusiastic reply taking the edge off your anxiety. Hopefully the rest would be taken care of this evening.

* * *

  
Crap, this definitely was not turning out to be a good evening for you.  
  
From the moment you walked in, you could tell something was off. Bokuto gave you his usual enthusiastic greeting, Akaashi sat on his bed reading and nodded at you in acknowledgement. At first sight, nothing out of the ordinary.  
  
But even taking your inclination towards overthinking into account, you were absolutely convinced that you did not imagine the tension in the air. Akaashi shuffled around a little, shoulders stiff and visible tightness in his jaws. Bokuto was just a touch louder than usual, too obvious about how he avoided eye-contact with you while he held up some game options for you to pick from.  
  
You stood in the room, biting your lip, your body slowly going stiff. Even just sitting down did not seem to be an option.  
  
Akaashi was the first one to notice your discomfort. His eyes widened when he saw the way you were chewing down on your lip, then he put his book down and gently said your name.  
  
Now Bokuto noticed it, too, his large eyes staring at you in concern. Were they worried you would break down again? Dammit, now Bokuto was frowning; did he regret agreeing to meeting up today?  
  
You drew a shuddering breath and tried to force your thoughts to a stand-still. A rational part of your mind was fully aware that you had no proper reason to think those kinds of things. However, that part was also horribly outnumbered and outgunned by the rest of you.  
  
“I just want to say that I- I’m really sorry about last time,” you finally blurted out, looking away from them both, staring at the wall instead. “I will try not to get you involved next time, I’ll tell Aya to not bother you with it.”  
  
Bokuto’s mouth fell open and he exchanged a helpless look with Akaashi, who stood up from the bed.  
  
Akaashi repeated your name, a little more insistent this time. “What are you talking about?” Oh crap, was he getting annoyed? “Neither of us have a problem with taking care of you, what is the use of saying that?”  
  
Eyes darting from you to Akaashi, Bokuto wore a confused frown. “Yeah, (Name), you don’t have to apologise about that! I was really happy I could help you out!”  
  
“I’m not stupid, I can tell something is going on!”  
  
Your hands balled into tight fists and you grit your teeth, glaring at the both of them. It only lasted for a second, then your anger faded away and left you with an empty pit in your stomach. Your hand relaxed and you stared at the floor, tempted to just turn around and leave without waiting for a response.  
  
“Please tell me what’s wrong.” Your voice was small, and you could feel tears burning behind your eyes.  
  
Warmth engulfed you, and before you could properly take in what happened, Bokuto’s arms wrapped around you and he pressed you into his broad chest. Your bottom lip trembled and slowly you put your hands on his shoulders, clutching tightly. Like last time, his embrace warmed you to the core and calmed you enough to finally take a deep breath.  
  
“I’m so sorry, (Name),” Bokuto muttered, one hand softly stroking your hair. He looked behind him at Akaashi. “We have to tell her. This isn’t fair.”  
  
If Bokuto had not blocked your view, you would have seen Akaashi’s pained expression. Then he sighed and walked over, putting a hand on the small of your back. You trembled slightly, watching him from the corner of your eyes.  
  
“Maybe you should sit down for this.”  
  
With a deep sigh, Bokuto untangled himself from the hug, and you had to use every ounce of your self-control to not dive right back into it. He tugged on your arm and sat both of you down on his bed, Akaashi joining you on your other side.  
  
Your heart raced as you looked from one to the other. Bokuto’s hug had been so comforting, so protective, that even with your anxieties clawing at you, you had a hard time believing he was angry with you or about to break off your friendship. And Akaashi’s hand rested against your leg, his expression troubled but also filled with something else. Something that reminded you of your own feelings towards him.  
  
Bokuto drew your attention when he put a loose arm around you. He stared at his lap, refusing to meet your eyes, but his cheeks were more red than you had ever seen them before, whether out of the flush of physical exercise and excitement or just sheer embarrassment.  
  
Despite their previous promise to tell you what was going on, for the moment a silence hung between the three of you, as though both of them hoped that the other would take the lead in this conversation. You looked from one to the other, wondering whether you dared to trust your instincts on this.  
  
Just as you heard Akaashi clear his throat, preparing to speak, you decided that yes, you did.  
  
“You know,” you said, pushing your hands hard into your lap, “I really like both of you.” A red blush dusted your cheeks, and your chest tightened a little. “And I... I don’t just mean as friends, don’t misunderstand.”  
  
You could sense them staring at you from both sides, the heat in your face increasing. Bokuto’s grasp on your shoulder tightened, while Akaashi’s hand searched for yours. His fingers found yours and he slowly traced patterns on your hand with his thumb.  
  
“So do we,” Akaashi said, looking down at your intertwined hands.  
  
Bokuto nodded and reached for your other hand, clasping it a little tighter than Akaashi did. “A lot.”  
  
You were convinced your entire face and neck must be scarlet red. The atmosphere was slightly awkward as the three of you sat in silence again. Bokuto’s arm felt warm against your back, and the thought of just leaning into him and let yourself melt was tempting. It was as though the two had created a cocoon of peace and safety around you, yet at the same time you sensed how fragile the situation was.  
  
How the hell were any of you supposed to handle this? Were they leaving the choice to you? You swallowed and broke your hands away from the contact. Clutching them to your chest, you were afraid to look at either boy, afraid to break the quiet mood. Bokuto retreated his arm from your shoulder, perhaps sensing your need for a little space.  
  
“So, uhm, what do we do now?” You bit your lip after the question left your mouth, aware that it was unrealistic to hope that they had a clear answer for you.  
  
Akaashi shrugged. “Don’t feel pressured to make any careless decisions. That’s not why we told you.” He let out a heavy sigh and rubbed the tip of one of his fingers between two of the other hand. “We hadn’t intended to tell you at all until we got a better grasp on this ourselves. I’m not sure what to do, either.”  
  
Bokuto started to make a noise, but Akaashi gave him a hard stare. You blinked at Bokuto, who rocked back and forth, obviously eager to bring something into the conversation.  
  
“Bokuto-san...”  
  
Tension threatened to dissolve your bubble of warmth and you fidgeted in between the guys, who shot each other stubborn looks.  
  
“That is something we first need to have another conversation about, Bokuto-san,” Akaashi said, his tone becoming increasingly stern. “This is not the time.”  
  
Judging by the petulant frown on Bokuto’s face, he did not agree. “I just think she deserves to know it’s an option.”  
  
Akaashi scolded. “We haven’t agreed yet that it is.”  
  
Trying to follow along the conversation and failing, you blinked at Akaashi. “You do realise this is going to drive me up the wall now, right?”  
  
Narrowed eyes never leaving Bokuto’s face, Akaashi let out a soft puff of air. “Bokuto-san is open to the idea of an... arrangement.” You had a really tough time deciphering Akaashi’s expression. “But I’m not convinced that would be a good idea.”  
  
Your eyes started to bulge once the implications of his words properly sank in, then you stared at Bokuto in shock.  
  
“Well, why not,” he said with a shrug, pouting at you.  
  
“Because it creates a very complicated situation,” Akaashi said, letting out another deep sigh. “(Name), I’m sorry we dropped all of this on you.”  
  
His eyes locked onto yours, and your breath almost caught at the intensity of his gaze.  
  
“Don’t feel pressured into giving any kind of answer,” he said, his expression softening when he realised how much tension you were holding inside. “Nobody expects you to respond to this right away.”  
  
You stared at your lap. The room went quiet again, and you could sense the two boys were waiting for you to say something, anything. Carefully thinking over your words, you chewed on your bottom lip for a moment. “Yeah, I think it is impossible to make a proper decision about anything now...” You ran a hand through your hair, feeling your blush return. “But my feelings are not the only ones involved here...”  
  
Bokuto shook his head. “Don’t worry about anything unnecessary right now.” You wanted to protest at his words, but he continued before you got a chance, smiling at your displeased reaction. “I’m not saying that what we want isn’t important, but you need to know what you want before we can decide anything.”  
  
Akaashi smiled as well, nodding in agreement. “I wouldn’t want you to get trapped worrying about our feelings.” He put a gentle hand on your back and helped you up. “Go get some rest, (Name),” he said.  
  
You sighed and looked from Akaashi to Bokuto, their comforting smiles sending a sharp shot of pain through your chest. Unable to face them for long, you quickly walked towards the door. Standing in the doorway, you hesitated and looked back. Bokuto grinned at you, while Akaashi carried his usual stoic expression, looking at you thoughtfully.  
  
You opened your mouth, unsure what you even wanted to say, then bit your lip and shook your head. You shot them a final look, and the corner of Akaashi’s lips tugged upwards as he gave you a slow nod.  
  
Swallowing thickly, you nodded back and closed the door behind you.  
  
Feeling all the strength in your body disappear, you leaned against the door and struggled not to let yourself sink to the floor. It was just too surreal. No way this was really happening to you.  
  
You reminded yourself to take deep breaths, then headed back to your room.  
  
It was time to finally have a talk with Aya.

* * *

  
“For real though... What are we supposed to do if she makes a choice between us?”  
  
“...”  
  
“Aaahhhh we tried to sound all cool in front of (Name) but it was all just empty bluster, wasn’t it.”  
  
“...Maybe it was. But we can’t do anything now except give her some space and wait.”


	21. Chapter 21

“Hm? You’re back quickly, (Name). Is everything okay?”  
  
Aya and Yuki sat together on the bed, curled up against each other while watching a video on Aya’s phone. She frowned at you, then shot a meaningful look at Yuki and put her phone away. After untangling from each other, Aya hopped off the bed and walked over to you.  
  
You stared ahead into blank space, still struggling to process everything that happened this evening. When Aya touched your arm, you jolted and looked at her.  
  
“Aya... remember when I promised you to keep you up to date on what’s going on with those two and me?” You pointed your thumb at the door behind you, and the room that lay beyond there.  
  
The change in her demeanour was instant, her eyes becoming alert and head sharply tilting to the side. Her grip on your arm increased and she tugged you further into the room. “Okay girl, it’s time to spill the details. Is it okay if Yuki stays here?”  
  
Feeling rather numb, you voiced no objection. Honestly, there was more of a risk that Aya accidentally blurted something out to someone than that Yuki passed on any information.  
  
“Yuki, do you mind if I interrogate my roommate before we finish watching that?”  
  
She shrugged. “As if you wouldn't break up with me if I did.” Then she gave you a reassuring smile. “It’s fine. What happened, (Name)?”  
  
Once Aya sat you down on your bed and sat cross-legged in front of you, eyes directly on you, the words started tumbling out. You stuttered, you misspoke, sometimes you almost spoke too fast for Aya and Yuki to keep track of what you were saying. With some patience, they managed to extract the entire story out of you.  
  
Aya blinked at you when you were done, the dorm room suddenly very quiet. You had expected her to scold you for not telling her of your developing feelings sooner, but the double confession appeared to have floored her too much.  
  
On the other side of the room, Yuki gave you a thoughtful look. “Bokuto sounds like a really interesting person,” she said, absentmindedly combing her long hair with her fingers, “just casually suggesting a poly relationship like that. I think I’d like him.”  
  
This seemed to help Aya out of her shock. “Wait, so now what? Are they leaving it up to you?”  
  
You shook your head. “It’s not just up to me. They just want me to figure out my feelings without influencing me, I think.”  
  
Aya grinned. “Aahhhh, the boys know you pretty well by now, don’t they.”  
  
A deep sigh escaped you and you let your head drop. “Ayaaaaa,” you whined, running both hands through your hair, “how did this even _happen_?”  
  
She patted you on the knee, giving you a sympathetic look. “I’ve always known you were dangerously adorable, sweetie. Looks like those two discovered that as well.” Aya poked the top of your head and grinned, unable to resist teasing you.  
  
“It’s not funny!”  
  
Your head shot back upright, glaring at Aya for making light of the situation. “Sorry,” she muttered, picking at a fingernail. Yuki sighed and shook her head at her girlfriend’s lack of tact.  
  
“So do you know what you want?” she asked, leaning forward a bit.  
  
You drew a shaky breath. Whenever you tried to think about that exact question, your brain decided to throw a huge wall in the way, blocking off any thoughts. Mind blank, you shook your head at her. “All I know is I don’t want to lose either of them.”  
  
Her eyes narrowed in a thoughtful expression. “So poly it is, then?”  
  
“Gah! Don’t say it so easy like that!” you exclaimed, flailing your arms towards her. Your breath came in quick bursts, heart hammering in your chest. “Besides, Akaashi doesn’t want to do that!”  
  
Aya groaned and rubbed her temples. “Didn’t they just tell you that you need to decide what you want without taking their thoughts into account?”  
  
You quieted down and stared at your bed with a pout.  
  
“Also, he just hadn’t decided on it yet, right? The way you said it, it sounded like they wanted to discus it further. Why would they need to do that if he already made up his mind about it?”  
  
Whining softly, you leaned your forehead on your hands, elbows resting on your knees. “How would that even work?” you muttered.  
  
Aya shrugged. “That’s what the internet is for, isn’t it. The first question you need to answer is, do you want it to work?”  
  
Silence filled the room.  
  
With a rueful smile, Aya gently ran a hand through your hair. “Good thing you don’t have to decide right now, huh.”  
  
You nodded, still not looking up.  
  
“Does a distraction sound good? We were watching mosogourmet recipes. Feel like torturing yourself by watching videos of cute food you can’t eat?”  
  
With a deep sigh, you sat back upright. “Yeah.”  
  
Aya laughed at your lack of enthusiasm and threw her arms around you in a hug. Still holding you, she pulled you off your bed and towards Yuki. The three of you sat curled up on the bed together, backs resting against the wall with Aya in the middle, holding up the phone with its small screen.  
  
Both you and Yuki leaned against Aya, who looked quite satisfied at being in the middle like this. She spoke the most, commenting on what she thought looked tasty and what seemed horrible. Yuki regularly scolded her for not keeping the phone still enough.  
  
It was a little clumsy, a bit too cramped, but the three of you made it work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mosogourmet is a cute Japanese youtube channel with lots of recipes~


	22. Chapter 22

Today was the day.  
  
Nervous jitters could be felt everywhere through the dorm, all students anxiously checking their email every other minute.  
  
Today the results of the midterms would be announced.  
  
Part of you knew there was no use to checking your email every minute, not yet anyway. They would not start sending them out until after eleven, and right now it was only half past ten. Somehow, this last half hour was harder to get through than the entirety of the previous days.  
  
Considering what had been keeping you busy, that said a lot.  
  
The last two days you had not seen much of Bokuto and Akaashi, preferring to keep some distance so you could think things through. Aya tried to help you, springing the question of what you wanted on you at random, unexpected moments.  
  
You weren’t sure just how much this helped you to figure out your feelings, but at least this way you couldn’t just stick your head in the sand and ignore the situation.  
  
With a loud groan you let yourself fall back on the bed, dropping your phone next to you. Aya had driven herself to far up the wall she had fled the room, and you honestly had no idea where she disappeared to. Probably Yuki’s room. You were all alone, and resorted to playing silly short games on your phone to pass the time.  
  
A small voice in the back of your head felt it was necessary to point out that usually during these kinds of moments, you would search out Bokuto. However, you quickly reasoned, everyone would be feeling stressed out right now, and that was not the ideal situation to visit the guys for the first time after your last conversation. You did make a deal with yourself that you would check up on them once the results were send out, to see how everyone had done.  
  
Fortunately even these thirty minutes could not last forever, though once the clock hit eleven, you had to wait an even more gruelling twenty before you finally found a link in your inbox.  
  
You held your breath while the site to your student account loaded, then slowly released it when you saw your results.  
  
_Yes_.  
  
Clutching your phone to your chest, you grinned uncontrollably. Finally, one less worry for you to hurt your head over.  
  
You stayed on your bed for a while, rechecking the results at least four times to make sure you had not misread anything. After the fifth time you put your phone away, breathing out slowly.  
  
When you remembered your earlier promise to yourself, you gulped.  
  
Taking more time than necessary, you slowly rolled yourself off the bed and headed towards the door. You could not keep putting it off for all of eternity, though your brain put in a lot of effort to convince you of this.  
  
You dragged your feet as you crossed the hallway. From the other side of the door you could already hear a loud, excitable voice. Despite all your nerves, you smiled. By the sound of it, Bokuto had also gotten good news. Akaashi was such a dedicated and clever student, if you had managed to pass everything, you felt fairly secure he would also have only positive results.  
  
Taking a deep breath, you knocked on the door.  
  
The large smile that appeared on Bokuto’s face when he opened the door and saw you, eased some of the tension that was stuck in your body. “Hey hey hey! Did you pass midterms! We both did, pfuwaaaah, it’s such a relief!”  
  
He rattled out the words while he stepped back to let you into the room, then closed the door and gave you an expectant look.  
  
“I did,” you said with a small grin.  
  
Akaashi perked up when he saw you, but the caution in his expression was instantly noticeable. Knowing him, he probably realised the dual purpose of your visit.  
  
Your eyes met, and he turned around in his deskchair to properly face you.  
  
“Congratulations, both of you,” you said, smiling at Akaashi. Bokuto laughed behind you and rubbed the back of his head, so obviously proud of himself it made you smile even harder.  
  
“Thanks,” Akaashi muttered, breaking eye-contact with you. His hands rested on his lap, and you could tell by the tension in his fists that he was exerting a lot of self-control to keep them still. “You too.”  
  
Bokuto gestured for you to sit down in his chair and flopped down in the bean bag himself. You sat down slowly and looked from one boy to the other.  
  
“Uhm, I don’t think I should try to beat around the bush right now,” you said, as tempted as you were to fill the silence with meaningless small talk. “I’ve been thinking a lot these last few days.” You bit your lip and tried to meet their eyes, but your gaze kept being drawn towards the floor.  
  
Because when you looked at them, you could see just how hard they were trying to keep their expressions neutral. Even Bokuto, though his attempts were far less successful than Akaashi’s. His eyes had grown big and hyperfocused on you, one of his legs twitching restlessly.  
  
“So...” Akaashi said, speaking slow and deliberately, “what are your thoughts?”  
  
There had been one reoccurring theme in your ruminations. One thing that consistently repeated itself, never letting up. You took a deep breath, trying to find the courage to voice this out loud. “I don’t want to lose either of you.” You swallowed and forced yourself to continue. “I can’t choose between you, I don’t want to choose. I realise this is selfish, but that is just impossible for me.”  
  
Your words seemed to bounce off the walls of the small room. Neither of them was capable of a response just now.  
  
But you weren’t finished yet.  
  
Convinced you must be crimson red by now, you stammered for a second until you managed to pull yourself back together. “So I guess what I’m saying is, well, uhm, if it is up to me, it’s either both of you or no one at all.”  
  
You still could not believe the words were actually leaving your mouth, that you had pulled together the audacity to ask for both of them, how greedy you were being. At the same time, you knew for sure that the only reason you found this courage was because it was these two, your beloved boys who had been so patient, so good to you. Who had only ever made you feel valued and cherished.  
  
Their reactions were about as you expected; Bokuto’s smile was so bright it made your own lips tug upwards, while Akaashi worked very hard to keep his face still.  
  
It was him you turned your attention to.  
  
“Akaashi-san,” you said, making him meet your eyes. “These are just my thoughts. You both gave me time to think this over, and it’s only fair you get the same. I don’t need an answer right now.”  
  
He exhaled slowly. “That is appreciated, (Name), but I’m not sure I’ll be able to figure this out by just thinking about it.” Bokuto and you sat quietly, and Akaashi’s eye gave a small twitch when he realised you were both waiting for him to continue. “I’m just concerned, it would be such a complicated situation. What if it does not work out? What if Bokuto gets jealous? What if... I get jealous.” His stream of words slowed down on the last sentence, as though he was embarrassed to voice that particular worry aloud.  
  
You were quiet, unsure how to respond. It would be dishonest to say these thoughts had not crossed your mind, either. Luckily, Bokuto was quicker to answer than you.  
  
“Well, I can’t promise that I won’t?” he said, scratching his cheek and looking up at the ceiling while working out how to voice his thoughts. “I mean, you of all people know how difficult I can be!” Bokuto shot an embarrassed look at Akaashi. “But doesn’t any relationship have a risk of ending somehow? It would be kind of a shame to not try something just because we’re worried it won’t work out!”  
  
It was obvious how much he tried to contain his high energy, but only partially succeeded. However, his words were nothing but genuine, making you smile.  
  
Akaashi breathed out slowly.  
  
“I suppose you are right,” he said, giving Bokuto a look as though he had a hard time believing such rational words came from his roommate. “Fine.”  
  
A small, excited noise escaped Bokuto and your heart started racing.  
  
“But only on the condition we take this very, _very_ slow.”  
  
Bokuto had a wide grin and you smiled at Akaashi. A part of you wanted to start panicking (were you really going to do this? Were you insane? What would people think? How did you ever think this was going to work?) but Akaashi slowly smiled and looked straight at you with so much warmth that your brain seemed to lose the capacity to worry.  
  
Yes, you would have a lot of figuring out to do. But if there were any two people whom you trusted enough to make this work, it was Bokuto and Akaashi.  
  
Next to you, Bokuto got up from his bean bag and walked over to Akaashi. The grin on his face was absolutely enormous and he gave you a conspiratorial look as he leaned down towards Akaashi and whispered something in his ear.  
  
You rose an eyebrow, which flew almost into your hairline when you saw the startled look Akaashi gave Bokuto.  
  
Bokuto nudged him and let out a small whine. “Come on, it’ll be so awesome,” he whispered, volume rising because he was unable to contain his excitement.  
  
After letting out a deep sigh, Akaashi looked from you to Bokuto, then seemed to resign in his fate and stood up.  
  
You blinked and stared at them as they walked over to you, slightly nervous when they crouched down till their eyes were on the same height as yours. Akaashi gave one last exasperated look at Bokuto, then closed his eyes and leaned in. Bokuto did the same, and your cheeks were set on fire when you could feel their lips on them, simultaneously giving you a soft peck.  
  
Your breath caught in your throat and your heartbeat seemed to stop entirely while time slowed down.  
  
They pulled back after only a second but it felt as far longer than that. You looked from one to the other with a befuddled look while you rose your hands to your cheeks, still feeling the heat.  
  
Despite his earlier misgivings, Akaashi now had a satisfied smirk on his face as he slowly stood back up. Bokuto grinned from ear to ear and was positively bouncing in his place.  
  
“Alright, I can admit when I am wrong,” Akaashi said, still looking at you like the cat that got the cream. “That was a good idea, Bokuto-san.”  
  
Bokuto let out a boisterous laugh and patted himself on the chest with a fist. “See? Together we can totally do this!”  
  
Still keeping quiet, your mouth hung slightly open while you stared up at the two.  
  
“Bokuto-san, I think your idea broke her.”  
  
“Kyaahhhh! (Name), are you okay? I’m sorry, was it too much!!”  
  
Bokuto flitted around you in a panic, while you regained your composure and managed to shake your head. “No, no don’t worry, Bokuto,” you said, hands slowly lowering from your cheeks to rest in your lap. “That was... really nice.” You gave them a shy smile, trying to contain your happiness, but the corners of your mouth irresistibly curled so far upwards that your face hurt.  
  
The guys sat back down and soon you fell back into a comfortable rhythm, Bokuto enthusiastically telling about random things that had happened to him during the last few days, with Akaashi giving calm commentary and correcting Bokuto where he felt it was needed.  
  
You wiggled a little further into the chair, pulling up your knees to your chin and resting your feet on the edge. Smiling at them, you rested your cheek on your knees and felt content to simply listen. You felt a wave of relief at the returned sense of normalcy.  
  
It was just you and your two boys again, your life back to normal.  
  
Yet at the same time, everything was different.  
  
And you wouldn’t want it any other way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next three chapters are three epilogues. Because I'm terrible.


	23. Epilogue I

Bokuto wandered around the room, gathering his things. He went from desk to dresser to bed, trying to find everything he wanted to bring.  
  
Akaashi sat on his bed, watching Bokuto grow increasingly anxious as he tried to locate his phone. “Did you leave it in the charger last night?” Akaashi asked, barely looking up from the book he was reading. “Or maybe (Name) accidentally took it with her.”  
  
Last night you had come over again, an almost daily occurrence now. Even if any of you were busy with other things during the day, usually they made time to hang out together. Sometimes it was just you and Bokuto, or Akaashi and you. Last night all three of you had stayed in their room, and Akaashi looked back on the evening with fondness.  
  
A couple of weeks had passed since the start of this relationship, and though it had taken some time to establish a comfortable rhythm, all involved were slowly starting to settle in. Especially you had taken some time to feel at ease when all three were together, preferring to avoid intimate or affectionate gestures, worried that would cause jealousy in either boy.  
  
However, yesterday you had relaxed and curled up against Bokuto while watching a movie, sighing in bliss when Bokuto put an arm around you and pulled you a little closer.  
  
To be fair, Akaashi had been surprised at his own reaction at seeing you and Bokuto under those kinds of circumstances. Just like you, he had expected feeling jealousy and anger, or perhaps a sense of being ignored and superfluous.  
  
He had not expected the surge of affection he felt towards both of you, fuelled by the happiness in front of him.  
  
And judging by the way Bokuto grinned at him whenever Akaashi held your hand or kissed your cheek, he probably felt the same way. Or perhaps Bokuto was just overly pleased with himself over how his idea, that Akaashi had initially rebuffed so pointedly, had worked out so incredibly well.  
  
Well, Akaashi supposed it was only appropriate for Bokuto to be so pleased with himself over that. After all, a lot of good had come of it.  
  
Bokuto lowered himself onto the floor and looked under Akaashi’s bed, where he finally let out a cry of victory. “How did it get all the way over there!” After a moment of wiggling and outstretched arms, Bokuto popped back up, grinning at Akaashi and proudly showing his phone. “Okay, I’m ready to go then! I’ll tell Kuroo you said hi!”  
  
He stood back upright, leaned down to press his lips on Akaashi’s forehead, and strut out of the dorm room.  
  
Eyes wide, Akaashi’s brain seemed to be stuck in a momentary malfunction and just completely blanked. He stared at the door, still trying to process what had just happened.  


* * *

  
Bokuto stood outside the door, sending you a quick message to ask if you were having fun with Nana. He hummed to himself as he put his phone away in his backpack, looking towards to a day of hanging out with Kuroo.  
  
Aaahh, and last night had been so good too! Bokuto couldn’t help but grin when he thought back on the way you had leaned your head on his shoulder, and that warm look on Akaashi’s face when he thought Bokuto didn’t see. Ha, and Akaashi used to think this would be a bad idea!  
  
Bokuto couldn’t be happier with himself, and with the situation. Gah, Akaashi’s hair had smelled so good just now, it only helped to improve Bokuto’s mood.  
  
Wait.  
  
Turning around slowly, Bokuto blinked at the door.  
  
What had just-  
  
His mouth fell open in horror and he slammed open the door, storming back inside the dorm room.  
  
“Akaashi!!”  
  
Still sitting on his bed, Akaashi stared at him with a blank expression on his face.  
  
“I’m so sorry, Akaashi, I don’t know what came over me!” He started making wild gestures while trying to explain himself. Somehow, it had just felt so natural to do? He had stood up and Akaashi had been _right there_ , gazing up at him and it just-  
  
“Please calm down, Bokuto-san.” Akaashi stood up from the bed and smiled. “I was a little surprised, but that was kind of nice.”  
  
If Akaashi had hoped that would calm Bokuto down, it was in vain.  
  
Bokuto turned bright red and flailed his arms, stumbling so much over his words by now that he sounded intelligible. With a shake of his head, Akaashi sighed and walked over to his roommate. He put his arms around Bokuto’s shoulders, trying to limit his movement. Akaashi pressed his face against Bokuto’s broad chest, and the latter froze.  
  
Slowly his arms circled around Akaashi’s waist, and Bokuto took a deep breath, nose tickled by the mop of messy dark hair in front of him.  
  
Wow.  
  
After a long moment, Akaashi pulled back and looked up at Bokuto with a serious expression. “We’ll talk more about this when you get back, all right?” The corner of his lips tugged upwards into a smirk. “You should go now, you don’t want to make Kuroo-san wait.”  
  
Bokuto stammered a little, then nodded in agreement and quickly left the room so he could catch the tram in time.  


* * *

  
Akaashi could not ignore the faint red tint on his cheeks. He felt like he finally truly understood why you enjoyed rubbing your cheek into Bokuto’s chest so much.


	24. Epilogue II

All in all, it had been a good day.  
  
Akaashi had needed a moment to recompose himself, and not get lost in a whirlpool of thoughts and analyses. To be honest, he felt quite surprised at how easily this went. Sure, there were some worries over what the ‘incident’ meant, both for him and Bokuto, and how you might respond, but the knowledge that there literally was nothing he could do about it now helped him keep a cool head.  
  
At the end of the evening you joined him in his room, by now comfortable enough to enter without knocking. You sat close to him on the bed and chattered about your day, the ill-advised purchases Nana had tried to talk you into and showed pictures of the fancy cakes you’d eaten.  
  
Akaashi smiled and held your hand while you talked, thumb running over the knuckles. When you quieted down, he could not resist the impulse to lean in and kiss you.  
  
Though it was not your first kiss together (you had crossed that bridge a while back), Akaashi’s lips brushed softly over yours in a chaste gesture and retreated after pressing a few light pecks on the corner of your mouth.  
  
You instinctively moved forward to follow him, slightly breathless. A fog had pulled over your eyes and you smiled at him, your free hand reaching out to softly trace his jawline. Akaashi closed his eyes and leaned into your touch.  
  
“So, how was your day?” you murmured, fingers now running through his hair, careful not to get stuck on a snag.  
  
“Hmm,” he sighed, only needing a second to decide just how much he would tell you of what happened. “Bokuto kissed me today.”  
  
Your hand stilled for a moment, then continued to play with his hair. He opened his eyes and wondered if he should be surprised by your warm, affectionate gaze. “Oh? How was it?”  
  
“It was just here,” he chuckled, reaching up his hand to tap your forehead with a single finger. “It was very nice.”  
  
“Good.”  
  
You twirled your finger around a strand of hair, apparently lost in thought. Akaashi let the silence be for the moment.  
  
“You know, for a moment there I thought you had beaten me to it.”  
  
“What?”  
  
You chuckled at Akaashi’s frown and put your hand in your lap. “Kou seems like he’s a bit nervous about it, so we haven’t actually kissed yet.” The nickname slipped past your lips naturally now. Akaashi remembered the first time you had used it; Bokuto had almost cried tears of joy. “I didn’t want to push anything.”  
  
A faint blush tinged your cheeks after those words. None of you were in the habit to discuss these kinds of things amongst yourselves; up until now it had felt like it was too early for that sort of frankness.  
  
Akaashi sighed. “He’s probably worried he’ll mess it up somehow,” he said. “If you’re concerned about it, just talk to him.”  
  
You carefully studied Akaashi while you found back your composure. “So how about you two? Have you talked about what you want?”  
  
He really wanted to hug Bokuto again. But instead of voicing that particular thought, Akaashi shook his head. “He was already running late to meet Kuroo-san.”  
  
You nodded and were content to sit in silence for a while, leaning your head against Akaashi’s shoulder. He rested his cheek on the top of your head and inhaled deeply. The fresh scent of your shampoo permeated his senses, along with a hint of what was so fundamentally you, that it made him smile and close his eyes.  
  
Today only made it obvious to him that he was still getting to know you, finding out what kept you busy and how you would respond to certain things. Since you tended towards overthinking like he did himself, Akaashi had worried this development might put a strain on your anxieties.  
  
But to his surprise, you had not seemed caught off guard at all. Honestly, it almost felt as though you had been expecting, or perhaps even hoping for something like this to happen.  
  
He nuzzled his face into your hair and kissed the top of your head, then let out a content sigh. You giggled underneath him and turned your head so you could press your lips against him, fingers running up his neck and tangling into his hair.  
  
With some confidence, Akaashi could say that he expected the new situation would not cause any problems.  
  
After all, last time things had gotten complicated, it had led to this.  
  
It could only get better.


	25. Epilogue III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like I mentioned at the start of this, I'm not sure if I'm done writing for this? But I decided I needed to kick my ass into gear and post this anyway. It will depend on exactly what gets written whether I'll post separate one-shots, a sequel, or just pretend these three epilogues were chapters after all and just continue here. Yay for careful planning!
> 
> Thanks for sticking with me until the end, I hope you found something you can enjoy in here!

To your surprise, Bokuto actually seemed more comfortable when it was the three of you, rather then when you were alone with him. He was almost jumpy about too much physical contact, as though he was afraid he might take something too far. A part of you even wondered whether this was out of consideration for you, or because he worried about being compared to Akaashi.

Honestly, you started to get worried about him becoming depressed; every now and again he seemed to get a little dejected, though the smallest compliment from you always restored his spirits before they could plummet.

Well, hopefully Akaashi and you would be able to help him see this was not a contest.

Remembering Akaashi’s advice for you, you sat down on the bed next to Bokuto and wiggled close to him. He grinned and loosely put an arm around you. This was as far as you’d gotten until now without Bokuto becoming nervous.

Just as a last check to see if perhaps things had changed, you reached up your hand to his hair to run your fingers through the strands. The gel had made them slightly rough, but it was still a pleasant feeling.

And yes, there it was.

His arm stiffened a little and his jaw tightened, yet at the same time happiness was coming off him in waves and he closed his eyes in appreciation.

With a sigh you withdrew your hand from his hair. “Kou.” Visibly relaxing, Bokuto still could not hold back a grin whenever you used that nickname. “Is it alright if I kiss you?”

For a moment Bokuto froze up, then he breathed out and chuckled. “So you noticed, huh? I’m sorry.”

You smiled and put a hand on his leg, circling your thumb with a soft calming motion. “Don’t worry about it. What’s going on? Do you want to talk about it?”

He shook his head. Turning to you with a serious expression, he reached up for your face. The warmth of his palm enveloped your cheek and you leaned into his touch. “It’s stupid, I’ve just been psyching myself out,” he said with a grimace. “Sorry for making you wait.”

You were about to protest, telling him not to worry about it, when he cut you off by pressing his lips against you.

A sharp inhale of breath, then you relaxed against him. His kiss was harder than Akaashi’s, more urgent, as though he tried to make up for lost time. You let out a soft sigh and let your hands return to his hair, running through the styled locks. A small noise escaped him and he pulled you a little closer, putting his other hand on the small of your back.

When he finally pulled away, Bokuto carried the most brazen grin you had seen on him yet, even beating those after particularly satisfying volleyball plays.

He chuckled and leaned his forehead against yours, rubbing your noses together. Slightly breathless, your fingers slowly untangled from his hair, brushing past his jawline as you put your hands down. To be fair, you had a goofy smile of your own plastered over your face.

“Totally worth the wait,” you murmured, then leaned in for another kiss.


End file.
